Life: The ticking clock
by davidpants1650
Summary: Shikamaru and the gang, and their lives post-War. All is well in paradise, but will it stay that way forever? Pairings: ShikaIno, SasuSaku, and NaruHina. This is a reupload of the original story "Life:Everyone is in on it." It got banned for I wrote it in the wrong section.
1. Chapter 1

It was a bright summer day in Konoha. People walked down the streets in a hurry to beat the heat. Friends laughed under the roofs of restaurants. Children were couped up in their classrooms half awake trying to become the next generation of shinobi, and that is where we meetmthe hero of this story. If you consider a lazy genius to be one.

No, you see this is not a story of a prince charming saving a damsel in distress. Not one of two lovers who struggle agaisnt the currents of life. Hell, it's not even a story of boy meets girl. It's a story of life and how every little moment can change something forever.

"Alright and that is how the great land of Shanjijo fell into the water, destroying their civilization." Shikamaru said.

Although it had nothing to do with shinobi training or jutsus, he felt that it was always good to include a little general history into his lessons to try to keep the class engaged.

"But, Shikamaru Sensei! Didn't the Shanjijos know how to swim!?" One of his students answered trying to get laughs from the other students. The attempt at humor was wildly successful as all the students broke into a fury of laughter. With that Shikmaru became fed up ending class prematurely. For the 3rd time this week.

"I swear I was going to kill them Choji if class would have kept on! I usually have so much patience, but I took this job to teach, not to babysit."

"That's just one of the kinks of the job." Choji said as wolfed down pieces of beef.

Shikamaru was grateful for his friend. He was always there for him. Through thick and thin. Lately in Shikamaru's life there was a lot more thick than thin.

Shikamaru went through a stressful year that no seventeen yearnold should have to go through. With his father dying, him trying his best with the post-war reconstruction of Konoha, his new job, and now trying to help his widowed mother. He enjoyed the small moments every day that erased his stress like lunching with Choji or watching the clouds after a round of grading tests.

"So any plans for tonight?" Choji asked, hoping to get him out of his gloomy apartment for the night.

"You know what, yeah..Yeah! Call up the boys cause we are having fun tonight!

"Wohhoohooo!" Exclaimed Choji as he banged the table emphatically.

"What's on the schedule for tonight!" Choji asked.

"Oh you'll see my friend."

**Later that night**

"You know Shikamaru I was expecting to do more with the boys tonight" said a depressed Choji

"Shut up choji and shoot!" Shouted Naruto as he was killed...in a virtual video game.

"Relax Choji this is fun! Besides I dont get my paycheck for another week." Shikamaru said,

For another night Shikamaru was locked in his apartment. It had gotten late. Shikamaru looked at his digital clock to only realize it was two in the morning.

"Sheesh have I lost control of the time also?" He said. Reflecting on the thought that he had been slowly losing control of everything in his life. He slowly sat on his bed that laid on the floor, too lazy to actually buy a comforter, he just crouched into a sleeping position thinking about his father, and his mother. How they were slowly fading from his life. He picked up his phone and apologized to Choji and promised him lunch was on him tomorrow. Shikamaru was losing touch of a lot of things in his life, he wasn't prepared to lose his best friends.

A/N This is my first ever fanfiction. I apologize if there are any grammatical errors and I promise the story will get good soon. Thank you guys! Reviews are greatly appreciated! My story got banned for me not posting in the wrong audience section. I'm reuploading.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden.

Shikamaru was always a heavy sleeper. Today however he woke up prematurely at 7 in the morning. Typically he slept in much longer on the weekends, when he didn't have to teach the young shinobi in training. He had a strange empty feeling when he woke up.

*stomach growls* "Hmmph..breakfast at home or grab something quick?"

He searched around his mini-fridge, hardly impressive but it was Shikamarus. He never saw the need for a big regular refrigerator. After searching through all his take out boxes, he decided on eating the remains of a sausage from Monday coupled with some mashed potatoes from Wednesday. Again the lazy Nara was too lazy to actually buy any real furniture from his apartment. His apartment was furnished only with house warming gifts from his mother. He rarely bought anything for his apartment, the only table he had was a little lawn table that rested on his tiny outdoor patio on the 3rd floor. He sat and ate alone in silence, both enjoying it, but deep down he had an after taste of being lonsome. He sighed as he finished his breakfast trying to finish as fast as possible due to in part that he just wanted to get the thought he was eating 6 day old meat out of his head.

It was still early in the morning when he finished. He planned on leaving the house soon to do some errands such as his weekly visit to the graveyard to talk to his former sensei and his father. He took his time however and spent some time looking down on Konoha. How the city was emerging from it's sleep. He saw that the streets were deserted except for the shopkeepers who were walking to make the arrangements to open their stores or stands. He saw unfamiliar faces as he looked at all the people. Occasionally he saw a friendly face such as Kiba walking Akamaru or seeing Naruto sometimes walking with Kakashi sensei to help him oversee the rebuilding of Konoha. He scanned lazily until he saw the only people he knew that stood out like a sore thumb. A certain blonde haired Kunoichi walking with another pink haired Kunoichi. He never saw Ino and Sakura take this road to what he assumed was the hospital as they were both dressed in medical scrubs. He was going to call out and say hello, but they were too far away he feared and were engaged in a light hearted conversation as he saw them both break out in laughter as they continued walking.

"To think that once they disliked eachother." Shikamaru said as he chuckled lightly

"You guys could thank me!" He yelled in a failing effort, laughing. He knew they wouldn't hear him so far away.

He technically was half right about his statement. It was him, who forced Ino during the Chuunin exams to look inside of herself and ask herself if she really cared about Sakura. Of course they also had to work out that whole Sauske thing, but it eventually solved itself as Ino let herself get over Sauske and left Sakura to "deal with him."

"Amazing how smart both of them are, and they liked a guy who couldn't give them one second of his time." Shikamaru said.

Soon Shikamaru left his apartment to begin his errands. His morning consisted of paying his respects and keeping Asuma sensei and his father up to date on his life, visiting his mother, and playing a few games of Shogi in the Shogi Hall. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was getting close to one in the afternoon.

"I think I'll pay Naruto a visit, maybe invite him to lunch." Shikamaru said to himself with his right hand under his chin.

He made it to the Hokage tower. To see the interim Hokage, Kakashi and his student Naruto. They appeared as if they were wounded internally.

"What's wrong? Are you guys okay!?" Asked a worried Shikamaru.

"Don't worry Shikamaru..we...are fine." Responded Kakashi as he lifted his head from his desk, rubbing his temples.

"We've been listening to amateur recordings trying to pick the new city anthem. Emphasis on the word amateur." Said Naruto who was searchig around Kakashi's desk for a pain reliever.

"

"Well it beats getting yelled at by Lady Tsunade." A joking Shikamaru said.

"Anyways I passed by to see if you wanted to grab lunch with me and Choji and possibly Sai." He said.

"I would but..."

"Go Naruto." Kakashi cut in.

"Really, I insist. You've been working so hard. Now go, I have something to attend to." A distracted Kakashi said as he was trying to look past the two seventeen year olds to see a blushing Shizune, in a provocative dress.

"Oh...umm ok.." a chuckling Naruto said while rubbing his head in embarrassment.

The two boys began walking towards a new restaurant that had opened in the market district.

"So Shikamaru...did you hear the news?" Naruto asked with hesitancy.

"No.?" A puzzled look emerged in Shikamaru's face

"Sauske...came back." He replied without any emotion.

Immediately as soon as the name "Sauske" came into the conversation, Shikamarus thoughts flooded immediately to the moment when Team Ten saw him on the battlefield during the war.

"Doesn't it feel nostalgic shi..ka...ma...ru?" Ino said, it what seemed as an attempt to get under his skin, for she knew that Shikamaru never had a liking towards Sauske.

His mind flooded back to reality in an instant.

"What a drag...we get precious little Sauske back." Shikamaru said with a hint of venom.

"I swear if he starts hanging out with us...I'm going to.."

"Relax Shikamaru! He seems a lot more mellowed out now." Naruto cut in.

"I don't care! I've never liked him! Not one bit." He said grinding his teeth at the thought of Sauske.

"Well ummm I kinda invited him to hang out with us later on tonight." Naruto quickly said hoping an angry Shikamaru wouldn't hear.

"YOU DID WHAT!?".

**A/N Well just finished chapter 2. I know the pace is not the fastest but I like a more natural developing story. Anyways big thanks to all the guest reviewers for taking the time to R/R. More coming soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden.

It was a relatively quiet day at the hospital. You had the occasional soon to be mother being rushed in by a team of meical nin. As well as the usual bus of elders that came early every Saturday morning for cardio and strength rehabilitation excercises. Sakura usually helped lead the excercises in the aerobics room. Ino usually spent her shifts between the nursery and the daycare the hospital provided for their staff in case they couldn't leave their children home alone. No matter how hectic their respective schedules got they always shared lunch together in the "cafeteria". Which in reality was just a small room, with a refrigerator and a microwave. Nonetheless, they always shared lunch together.

"How's your shift been?" Asked a searching Ino as she looked around the refrigerator for the salad she put there in the morning.

"Same as always. You see a sweaty, old man, you've seen them all." Sakura said annoyed, As she took a deep sigh. Hiding something it appeared.

"Have you seen Dr. Kanka's new child? It's the cutest little baby boy I've ever seen!"

"Remember Ino I don't work with the children! " she snapped.

"Are you alright..? You were normal today in the morning. Is there something bothering you?" She said in a concerned tone. Turning her body around and pulling a chair to engage her friend in a serious discussion.

"Billboard what's wrong?" She said...knowing that the old nicknames they used now had a different purpose, to show that they care about eachother.

"Oink, *snort*, oink." She said trying to fight back tears from her eyes.

"Sakura...don't." She held her and tucked her into her shoulders.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me."

She pushed back and began wiping away her tears from her eyes with her fingers.

"He...he..Sauske is back." She glanced at her blonde friend.

"And...your point is? Unless... you still..."

"Yes..." she said with a look of disappointment.

"Sakura...it's ok..." Ino said trying to be reassuring.

Ino was torn internally. One part of her thought she had no right to tell her off and to encourage her to get over him, because love is love and she had no right to say who Sakura can or can't love. The other part of her thought about her own experience with liking Sauske. She wasted years chasing Sauske, only to end up crying and depressed when he repelled her advances.

"Sakura...you know that you've already blossomed into a flower so beautiful that it beats a Cosmos flower any day of the week right? Referring herself to the Cosmos.

"You are such a beautiful flower that you deserved to be picked up by someone who actually sees and appreciates what you've blossomed into." She said trying not to break a heart, that has been broken many times before.

"What...are you trying to say?" She said continuing to wipe away her tears.

"I'm trying to say that you deserve better Sakura! You chased him around all this time and for what!? He treats you like the gum on his shoe!" She said not trying to sound mean, but her friend needed to hear this.

"There are other great guys out there like Lee and Naruto, that actually care and will protect you no matter what!"

"I know. I know. It's just that...I heard he's changed." She said looking down and rubbing her elbows.

"Well changed or not that still hasn't made up for the fact that he turned his back on the whole village. "

Ino realized immediately after she said that, that she has shamed her best friend.

"Look Sakura, I just want you to be happy. I didn't mean to make you feel bad or worthless, because we both know you aren't. I'm just saying..be careful." She said, sighing afterwards.

"So you think that I should I?"

"Yes, but if he hurts you..I SWEAR HE'll HAVE NARUTO, CHOJI, AND SHIKAMARU TO ANSWER TO." She said rolling up her fists in a ball of fury.

"I promise you he has changed. You'll see" she giggled.

Their medical pagers soon went off, signifying that there lunch break was over. With Sakura looking like she was dumped at high school prom and Ino's blood pressure through the roof due to the conversation they just had. They decided to call it a day and just go shopping instead. After all it was a quiet day in hospital.

"Hey Ino?"

"What's up?"

"When you stopped liking Sauske, who did you fall for after?"

Ino's mind ran through all the memories she's had and thought about how Shikamaru was always there to catch her when she fell. Both literally and figuratively speaking. She thought about how she always had a small childhood crush on him before she was introduced to Sauske. She thought about how he always protected her on missons whether she needed it or not. She even remembered how at peace with himself he appeared when he dozed off for hours staring at the clouds. A trait she wish she had along with his intelligence.

"Sakura you know I haven't had anytime for boys, ever since you know... my father" She said as her voice cracked a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry to have asked."

The two friends continued walking until they hit market district.

"Look we're almost there!" Ino said excitedly.

SHIKAMARU'S SIDE

The group of friends were couped up in a new restaurant that had opened up. It was nothing fancy. The menu consisted of comfort food and ramen. Although there were many seats open do to the lunch crowd dispersing, the group chose a table that was on the outside, by the edge, due to it being a nice day and that Shikamaru insisted on it so he could gaze at the clouds while in the company of good friends.

"So Shikamaru, how's Temari?" Asked Naruto

Choji immediately began making a silent gesture to Naruto asking him not to ask that.

"It's alright Choji. I'm over it already." Shikamaru said plainly

"Things just started going south, and she ealized that she wasn't interested in a long distance relationship. I started to feel the same also and we just ended it."

"Oh I'm sorry Shikamaru..I didn't mean to."

"No really it's fine." He said chuckling.

Choji intervened "You don't act like your fine. Always hiding out and being alone in the apartment."

"Fine Choji if it will make you feel any better, we'll do something tonight. " he snapped.

Shikamaru continued "on one condition..we must not bring that prick Sauske along with us."

"C'mon Shika! He has changed, trust me." Naruto said casually

"We'll go out on the town, dance a few dances, share a couple of laughs, and you'll see how much he has changed. Who knows you might just find a new girl!" Naruto said playfully.

"Sai what's your take on this?"

"Uhh...umm it appears as though our friend Shikamaru is jealous of Sauske. Now of course, the reasons behind jealousy could be a rival between a lover.."

Shikamaru's mind soon began replaying the same memory of Team Ten seeins Sauske on the battlefield and Ino saying "doesn't it feel nostalgic Shi...ka..ma..ru?"

Sai continued "between two shinobi of similar skill sets, or between which male has the larger mating tool." He said winking.

"No, no, no it's none of those reasons! Shikamaru said , stretching his arms to get in a relaxing sitting posture.

His arms however stretched across the table and knocked his lemonade onto the sidewalk. Only to be immediately be accompanied by the loud shrieks of a woman.

Shikamaru immediately pulled the cloth that partially blinded his view of the sidewalk. To see a disgruntled Ino as her sandals were soaked in lemonade.

"Jeez Louise! I'm so sorry Ino!"

A disgruntled Ino was too busy tyring to dry her sandal, to immediately recognize who the culprit was until she looked up.

"SHIKAMARU! I haven't seen you since last month!" She said running to quickly hug him and Choji.

"Wait you're not mad?" He asked puzzled.

"Well at the beginning yes. Then I realized it was you guys!" She giggled

"Wait a second..are you guys eating without me? I thought we always planned to meet up at a restaurant at least once a month." She said while folding her arms. Playfully, but still holding them.

"Relax...we will next week. I promise." He said reassuringly

"Okay fine. But still doesn't mean were even." She said with a look of sadness, considering the fact they never took the extra step to hang out with her.

"Well Shikamaru isn't busy tonight." Choji said.

"Great sounds like a date!" She said smiling and laughing

"You better make this up to me." she said while walking away, not without giving a quick goodbye hug to Shika and Choji.

"And I'm expecting flowers!" She called out from far away jokingly.

"Geez, what a drag." He sighed with a sly grin.

Everyone around the table noticed the blush in his cheeks after he sat down to resume his meal.

"We'll looks like Shika already has moved on! Don't you agree guys?"

The whole table nodded

"Shut up Naruto! I swear she's just a friend!" His cheeks became even more blushed.

They soon began torturing the Nara boy

"Alright let's play the rhyming game." Choji said.

"I'll go first!" Replied Naruto.

"WE KNOW THAT YOU LIKE INO BUT SHE DOESN'T LIKE YOU AND LEFT YOU FOR A PHILIPPINO!

The gang burst out laughing at Shikamaru's expense.

"I'll like to volunteer to showcase my..uh...new sense of humor...if you guys don't mind." Sai said.

"I KNOW THAT YOU WANT TO STICK IT TO INO..TRUTH IS YOU PROBABLY ALREADY LOST TO SHINO!"

Naruto and Choji had to leave the table momentarily to stand up and laugh. They laughed for awhile, due to the random rhyme SaI pulled off which wasn't expected of him.

Meanwhile Sakura noticed how quickly Ino's mood changed. From one of calm and somber. To one of constant giggling and blushing.

"Hmmph...so the old saying is true? Sakura asked

"What saying?"

"The one of the Deer always ending up with the bush clover."

Ino's cheeks turned a crimson red.

"Shut up Sakura and help me pick something for tonight. " She said playfully with a grin, as she threw a shirt at her best friend.

**A/N Thank you to all who are reading my story! Whether it's guests or other fanfic members, I greatly appreciate the support. Let me know if you have any suggestions or just comments. Please R/R THANK YOU!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

The Summer heat soon began to die down as the sun traded shifts with the moon. All around Konoha the air was filled with the melody of the songbirds, the droning buzz of the working class became quieter and each passing minute one of the friends would take their leave, and soon the group had parted ways. All except for Choji. He accompanied Shikamaru back to his apartment where he would help him prepare friend for his "date" tonight.

"Hmmph...what are you going to pick out for me buddy? The lazy Nara said, while aimlessly flipping through the channels.

"Well it depends." He replied with a light chuckle.

Shikamaru looked up at his chubby friend, "D-Depends on what?. He stammered...picking up once again. "I'm not going to take her anywhere special."

Choji glowered at him from across the room..

"No Choji! I don't think Ino isn't worth a nice dinner. After all we've been friend's since we were just toddlers, Plus mom would probably kill me if she found out that I took Ino on a crappy date- No!. It's not even a date! I don't like her!" He said trying to reassure both himself and Choji.

"But..."

"The truth is..well..We've been been eating out a lot lately..so pretty much I'm broke. " he said while still staring at the television, finally settling for the evening news. There was a rustling coming from beside him, but he didn't break his eyes away from the screen.

"Take this." His best friend said while reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small pouch filled with Ryo.

"Choji...you know I can't take this." Shikamaru pushed back his friends hand as he spoke.

"Shika take it!" He growled with a serious face.

"How am I..."

"You can pay me back whenever you can."

"Thanks Choji..but why and how do you have a random secret wallet with you?"

"That's what friends do, plus you never know what life is going to throw at you. I always bring some emergency cash in case of a mugging or what not."

"That's actually pretty smart."

"You aren't the only smart one." He said chuckling. "Besides I want you to be happy. You're my best friend! I'm tried of seeing you rot away in this apartment."

"What are you getting at Choji?"

"Isn't it obvious? " "I know that you like Ino deep down...so don't try to fool me."

What could Shikamaru say? Consciously he knew Ino was a good looking girl, but that was it. They we're friends since they were toddlers. However, he knew that was a lie. He knew that deep down he had always had a soft spot for the blonde kunoichi. He knew he always tried to silently impress her during their days as Team Ten. Whenever it appeared as though they were going to get together, he lashed back desperately. Not because his mind told him women were "troublesome", but the exact opposite. He thought he was never good enough for the beautiful cosmos, he thought that he would either get rejected or that he would drag her down with his qualities.

_"Why_ _would_ _she_ _ever_ _like_ _a_ _schmuck_ _like_ _me_?" He thought to himself, only to quickly regain control of the thoughts that flooded his mind.

"Look Choji I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this is not a date." He tried to say clearly.

"I have no intentions of wooing Ino and probably vice versa. We are just friends, so can you please drop it buddy?"

Choji had seen this side of Shikamaru before, the side where he pushed away the things he wanted. He could never figure it out... why on earth did his friend do that? Did he think he deserved to be punished by fate for something that he had done? Nevertheless, he knew that this temporary phase his friend was in will pass during his dinner. He chose not to argue with his friend in hopes of calming him down, and to try and ease his nerves.

"Okay fine, I guess your right. It's not a date" He smiled, knowing the inside information "but we still need to pick out decent looking clothes for you, at least."

He knew that Shikamaru- to put it nicely -wasn't the best guy when it came down to appearance.

Choji remembered his birthday dinner last year in which he asked everyone to come in formal attire. Everyone else came and danced in their suits and dresses, and then came Shikamaru. He was the only one dressed in his Jonin unifrom. When he approached Shika to ask him why he wasnt wearing a suit or at least a dress shirt he said, "C'mon Choji, you know that I've never known how to tie a bowtie or found the use in cufflinks. "

Coming back from the present Choji looked at his friend, noticing his indifference. "I imagine you're gonna take her somewhere nice?"

"If you consider Ramen nice, then sure." He shrugged. Trying his best to hide his excitement.

"Well how about this!" Choji exclaimed as he fished around Shikamaru's closet, pulling out a grey sweater, and some black trim fitted jeans.

"That's perfect! "

"Well its far from perfect, but it beats wearing the same Jonin vest everyday."

Shikamaru looked at his casual outfit laid across his bed. _"It_ _was_ _perfect"_ he thought. Since he was a lazy guy he rarely ever changed his clothes, he just splashed cologne on it. He gazed in amazement as he saw what he looked like in a jacket, which he didn't know he owned. He glanced at his pants and immediately saw a problem.

"What a drag, these pants have a big red stain on one of the pant legs!" He complained.

"Crap! It's alright. I'll find you some other pants."

"No, I got to get going in the next five minutes." Shikamaru said as he scanned the area around him. His eyes widened when he found a makeshift answer.

"Cho, pass me my body spray!"

He obliged and handed him the spray. Shikamaru quickly began to spray his pants with the spray from point blank range.

"Umm...you think those white stains are going to fade away."

"Don't worry about it Cho. It has to." He said reassuringly.

He looked at the clock on the microwave, it said it was 6:47 PM.

"Crap! I have to go Choji, her flower store closes at 7!"

"AWWW..YOU ARE GOI..."

"SHUT IT CHOJI! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" He said as he was about to head out, already in a hurry.

"Wait! Don't go look at the news!"

The Weather Report was on and soon the forecasts came up for the night. They both saw what the evening had in store for Shikamaru.

_7 pm...expect thunderstorms._

8_ pm ..heavy rain_

9_ pm heavy rain_

10_ pm heavy rain with chance of lightning_

11_pm severe thunderstorms._

"SHIT! I GOT TO RUN. CHOJI LOCK THE DOOR TO MY APARTMENT. " Shikamaru said as he ran to Yamanaka Flowers.

He ran through Konoha weaving past strangers, shopkeepers, and the occasional friendly face. He was persperating heavily and slowly becoming a nervous wreck the closer he got. He started to get extremely nervous at the thought of dinner with Ino, and add in the fact that he forgot to bring an umbrella.. it was safe to say he was worried. Soon thereafter he arrived at Yamanakam Flowers and paused to look at his watch. The watch read 6:56 PM. He took a breath of relief as he opened the door, quickly being intoxicated with the sweet and pure aromas of the many flowers they had prepared for purchase. He wasn't spotted when he entered the store. He noticed the cashier was Ino's mother. As quickly as possible he began searching around for the right flowers. Shikamaru never paid any attention when Ino was lecturing him and Choji about what each flower meant, so he just picked up whatever flowers he saw. Roses.

He went to the cashier holding a bouquet of roses. Miss Yamanaka immediately recognized Shikamaru, and she knew why he was there.

"Shika! How are you?

"I'm fine thank you, and how have you been?

"I've just been around the store, teaching my daughter how to properly run a business."

She handed him the flowers and he stepped away from the counter, exposing his pants.

"Ino said she will..." Miss Yamanaka stopped mid-sentence as she noticed and was disturbed by the white stains he had on his pants. She also noticed that he was out of breath (from running but she didn't realize that), flushed, and his hands were sweaty. She was a little shocked at the mental image that came in her head of what Shikamaru did before leaving the house.

"Something wrong Miss Yamanaka? " a smiling Shikamaru said. Not realizing that she had, spotted his stained pants.

"I...I...I'll just..go jack...um wha...I mean fetch Ino. " She said as she scurried away.

"Okay I'll just wait outside the store." He said still smiling cluelessly.

Soon thereafter Ino emerged from the store to find him standing by a wall of a local shoe store, which was situated right next door.

"It looks like you were happy to see me." She said giggling with a little blush

"Of course..why wouldn't I be! You are one of my closet friends. Here, I made sure to not disappoint you." He said handing her the roses.

"Thank you Shikamaru! * she hugged him tight, as his hand slipped up her upper back. As Ino wore a blue top with a black mini skirt and had pulled her hair back.

"What I meant was...well have you seen your pants"? She giggled.

"What do you mean?" He said looking down on them, and he quickly realized why people were giving him strange faces. He blushed out of embarrassment.

"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" She asked.

"I thought i would make it up to you by treating you to some ramen." He said.

"Sounds fun."

He offered her to wrap her arm around his elbow as they began their stroll to Market District. Shikamaru may be a lot of things, and being a gentleman was one of them. As they strolled down each block they began to ask about eachothers personal lives and how their mothers were handling life without their husbands. It was a suffering, a suffering they shared together.

They arrived at the ramen stand fairl quick, to Shikamaru time seemed to have flown by.

"Here you go." He said, pulling out Ino's chair and tucking her in.

They both began chatting about their respective lives. Talking about Choji and Sakura. They soon ordered and while they waited he noticed something. He noticed that her eyes were a hybrid of colors, or they at least appeared to be. They were blue during the day, however in a dark setting he noticed that they had a light shade of green depending on where the light hit. He thought he was gazing in a sea of beauty, as the tides of innocence kept washing him further and further away, making him more lost in them.

"Remember how hard I had to yell at you and Choji for you guys to get your act together? " she said smirking.

"Yeah, well clearly you forgot all the times I had to bail you out of horrible situations." He said laughing af the thought, it seemed so long ago..

"Well if it wasn't for my pushing you wouldn't have become the shinobi that you are today." She said playfully while sticking her tounge out.

Something inside him suddenly clicked- Shikamaru's mind processed her last statement, and immediately came out a flashback of 3 and a half years ago as he was talking to his dad;

_"Why_ _did_ _you_ _pick_ _mom_? _She's_ _always_ _nagging_ _at_ _you_."

_"Son_, _I_ _picked_ _your_ _mother_ _because_ _she_ _always_ _brought_ _out_ the _best_ _within_ _me_ _and_ _challenges_ _me_ _to_ _be_ _a_ _better_ _man_ _every_ _day_."

His mind rushed back to reality. He emerged from his flashback with a growing smile, and looked at Ino.

"I hope this doesn't sound out of line, but you look beautiful tonight, and I'm glad I'm spending tonight with you.

Ino blushed really hard, surprised at Shikamaru's kind words.

"Thank you." She said softly, lowering her head so he wouldn't see the smile that overcame her face.

The two sat there admiring each other in silence. When Shikamaru asked for the check he was surprised to be treated to a slice of sticky rice cake, on the house.

"Compliments of the owner, and we hope you both have a goodnight." The waiter said winking, and pointing at the person who was leaning against the counter. The owner of the restaurant was a bald, old man who sported a walker. Shikamaru made eye contact with the old man, who first pointed at Ino, then to his stained pants, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Did we just get..."

"Yeah we got free dessert because of my jizz pants." Shikamaru said, embarrassed.

Ino laughed hysterically on the walk home, laughing at he embarrassment it brought to him. After ma short walk they soon arrived back to Yamanaka Flowers

Ino looked up at the sky, admiring the stars before turning to him.

"Thank you for taking me out tonight Shikamaru, I really enjoyed it." She said smiling and quickly pecked him on the cheek.

She began to pull her keys out of her purse as she was unlocking the door to the store.

Shikamaru began to walk away, tonight had gone great for his agenda, whatever it was, for he was still unsure about his feelings for Ino. He wanted to see her again, but his doubts were controlling him like a puppet. With sudden resolve he pushed those doubts aside and turned around quickly, hoping Ino hadn't entered yet.

"Hey Ino...uuh if you want.. we uhh" -He scratched the back of his head- "can do this some other time. If you're free of course."

"Well weren't we going to meet up next Saturday for our Team Ten dinner with Choji?"

"Yeah..yeah...that works out." He walked away a little saddened, that is until he turned aroun again.

"I meant just the two of us." He said with his feet planted firmly facing her.

Ino was halfway through her door.

"What did you say Shika? I'm sorry I couldn't hear." She really did hear him but wanted to see if he actually meant it.

"I said I meant for just the two of us." He said with confidence, which was actually used as a defense mechanism that prepared him for rejection.

Ino blushed and smiled. "Sure, I'm free on Wednesday for the night."

"Perfect sounds like a...date."

"Yeah, sounds like one." Her smile grew bigger. "Goodnight Shika." She walked into the dark store.

"Goodnight."

Shikamaru began walking back to his apartment. He looked at his watch, it said 11 PM.

"Hmmph forecast said thunderstorms. Looks like I had nothing to worry about." He said to himself smiling.

**A/N: I would first like to thank of course the readers, for helping me and motivating me to write. I would like to thank the followers of the story so far. Finally I would like to thank my new amd first beta editor. She's probably the best ShikaIno writer currently. Thank you, the scarlet letters. Remember to R/R! Feel free to message me any story ideas or recommendations.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or the song "Closing time" by Semisonic.**

Ino found herself walking torwards the dimly lit backroom of her mother's flower shop. She was welcomed to the new shipment of tulips that she assumed arrived after the shop had closed. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the various scents of every type of flower, feeling intoxicated by their aroma. She looked at the shipment with a sigh and imagined how early she would have to wake up in the morning to prepare the tulips for purchase. Ino felt a vibration coming from her purse and reached into it. She giggled to herself, seeing that Sakura had spammed her phone with 7 messages. All asking the same thing, "**How was your date?" **Or similar variations of it.

Ino excitedly called to inform her on how her date went.

After a couple of rings, the pink haired kunoichi answered.

"Hello?" Sakura replied with a tone of exhaustion.

"Sakura! Sakura! Sakura!" Ino whisperd loudly. Hoping to not to wake her mother as she fumbled around with her keys, eventually opening the door to her apartment.

"So I take you had a nice night? Sakura lightly chuckled.

"I guess you can say that." Ino said, while putting away her keys in a counter that had two drawers. A smile growing on her face.

"Did you guys kiss?!" She said with excitement.

"No, remember it wasn't that type of "date". Ino said as she was changing into her pajamas.

"But get this! He asked me out on a real date!" She said squealing! Hugging her pillow.

"Oh my! How did he do it?""

"Well he walked me home, like the gentleman that he is..." Ino explained as she blushed.

"And...?"

"Well I had a really nice time with him- hoping he would ask me, and well..where was I?" Ino said as she giggled.

"FINISH THE DAMN STORY! INO PIG!" Sakura yelled impatiently.

"Okay...okay...where was I? Oh yeah! So anyways...he walked me home and I could tell he was nervous, and well he just mustered up the courage to ask me out." She said while twirling her hair.

"Wow, I'm really happy for you! When is the date?"

"Wednesday night! " Ino paused, grinning at her phone devilishly. "So have you called Sauske?"

"No..I was going to." She said dejectedly. "I just got nervous when I heard it go to voicemail."

"Well Shikamaru told me he went out with Naruto and the rest of the gang. You should really try to call him again in the morning."

"And say what? -Oh hey this is Sakura, remember me? That girl you always found annoying and never shut up."

Ino laughed hysterically on the phone. "I'm sorry..I'm sorry but that was truly funny." She cleared her throat of any laughs or giggles that may have been hidden. "How about just telling him that you heard he was back and town and see if he wants to catch up."

"Ino, you know how he is! -Sakura impersonates Sauske- "Oh Sakura that's you? Get lost. All I care about is vengeance, vengeance, and vengeance." She said while trying her best not to laugh.

"OH MY GOD I CAN'T BREATHE!" Ino said while her body was convulsing into fits of laughter. "He reminds me of that guy we met at the tea shop last year.

"What guy?"

"You don't remember the one who had a red blotchy mark on one of his eyes? The one who snapped in the middle of lunch hour when the waitress spilled tea on him and all he yelled out was MY HONOR! Oh no! You stained MY HONOR!"

"Yes, yes now I remember!" Sakura said laughing. "The one who was accompanied by that old man who always looked relaxed and very wise?

"Yup. Yup, that very one." Ino tapped her chin thoughtfully, "I wonder what happend to that guy."

"No idea, but he was really cute."

The girls continued talking into the wee hours of the night. The conversation ranged from anywhere from the latest gossip to conversations about the deeper things of life such as motherhood, friendship, and if there was an afterlife or not.

_Meanwhile _

Naruto, Sai, Choji, and Sauske where finishing up there "guys night" with some karaoke. The four have been walking around the urban district where most of the nightlife lay. After hopping from club to store and vice versa they decided, why not end the night with their horrible voices? After sitting themselves down in the dark karaoke hall, Sauske had a surprise in store.

"Psst guys..."

They all immediately looked around, stunned to see that Sauske had pulled out a bottle of cheap booze.

"Well are you guys going to sit and stare, or are we going to drink and sing horribly!? He said with a huge smile.

_"Woah, I guess Naruto was right. Sauske really has chagned."_ Choji thought to himself.

"All right now you're talking!" Naruto exclaimed.

The four friends huddled around and quickly finished the bottle. Soon the alcohol began to kick in and they felt brave enough to go up and show off their talents..or lack of thereof, so to speak.

Sauske grabbed the microphone and spoke. The alcohol impacted his level of hearing...and maybe his level of sanity as well.

"It's getting around that time folks! He shouted in the mic. The mic screeched loudly drawing an unfavorable review from the crowd.

The Karaoke version of the song _Closing Time by Semisonic _gets played on the speakers. The crowd erupted into a fury of applause.

"This one goes to all the sexy ladies tonight! Naruto whispered into the microphone causing the crowd to erupt into a pandemonium of "woos" and whistles.

Choji grabbed the mic _"Closing_ _time_..._open_ _all the_ _doors_ _and_ _let_ _you_ _out_ _into_ _the_ _world."_

Naruto jumped in "_closing time..turn on all the lights on every boy and girl"_

Sauske took over control of the mic . "_Closing time...one last call for alcohol, so finish your whisky or beer." _He then pulled out the empty bottle of booze and drank the last few drops that were left. Much to the delight of the crowd.

All four friends chimed in "_I know who I want to take me home. I know who I want to take me home." _ Soon the crowd began to stand up and jump, which then resulted in Sai letting go of everything he learned in ROOT training to jump into the crowd and surf. The song soon ended soon after their five minutes of fame. The group soon left the karaoke hall thinking they rocked it. In reality they sounded nothing at all similar to what was just described. They were drunk, slurring their words. Sai had really tried to crowd surf, however he came in contact with the cold and empty floor. Alcohol can turn almost anything into a good situation. They were soon walking the streets alone, that is until they spotted, what appeared to be a friendly face in the distance. They saw a dark haired man around their age with a smile on his face. He was throwing his loose change to Konoha's homeless, smiling all the way through. He was spinning across the lightpoles and even played the bongos temporarily as he walked pass a street band. They couldn't believe it was...Shikamaru? The lazy Nara who thought everything was either "a drag" or "troublesome". The same guy who they remembered had a date tonight with Ino.

"Looks like someone got lucky tonight." Said a buzzed Naruto.

"Nah, Ino isn't that type of girl but...something good must have happend." Choji said with a smirk.

"It seems as though our friend is in the stage of what is most commonly known as 'love'. Sai added.

"How long have I been gone? Ino and Sakura used to be all over me. Good for him though. I always noticed how he was jealous of me whenever she made a pass at me.

"That came off a bit douche-y." laughed Naruto.

"I didn't mean it like that! Just saying." Sauske shrugged his shoulders.

"Choji, call Shika."

Choji yelled into the empty, cool night. Shikamaru stopped at the sound of his name, turned around and scanned the area. He quickly found his friends across the deserted streets. Shikamaru noticed the bruises on Sai from "crowd surfing" and their smell of alcohol.

"Jeez what did you guys do tonight? Get drunk and get into a fight?"

They all looked at eachother strangely wondering what Shikamaru was talking about.

"No..but we did just bring the house down with our singing at the kareoke hall!" A proud Naruto said as he and the group exchanged high-fives in celebration of their 'accomplishment'.

"Anyways we noticed you - uhhh- _walking_ across the street."

Shikamaru laughed a little at Naruto's reply.

"So how was the date? We presume it went well?" Asked Naruto.

"Well...I would tell you guys, but I'm extremely tired right now." He said stretching his arms and yawning. "You guys look like crap though, how about you guys stay over for the night and we'll talk about this over breakfast."

"Alright, but let me pay tomorrow to show my thanks." Said Sauske, who had intervened into the conversation.

Much to the shock of Shikamaru he just replied, "sure."

Soon the group of five ventured into the streets of Konoha. Walking in silence due to sheer exhaustion. Naruto soon walked up to Shikamaru, who was ahead of the pack.

"I told you." He said to him.

Shikamaru threw him a weird glance, not knowing what he was talking about.

"I told you he's changed." He said as he glanced at Sauske who was walking behind with Sai.

"Maybe." He shrugged

They soon reached his apartment where they made themselves at home, as best as they could. Everyone slept on the floor and on the couch, except for Choji, who Shikamaru gave his bed to him as a secret 'thank you' for giving him the push to go have dinner with Ino. After what looked like a scene of a party gone wrong, the guys woke up from Shikamaru's floor. Some with headaches, Sai feeling the bruises from last night, and Shikamaru waking up with the same smile as yesterday. The group soon washed up and took up Sauske on his offer of a free breakfast.

"And i'll have two pancakes and a side of bacon, no eggs." Shikamaru was the last one to order as they all handed the waitress the menus.

The waitress soon came back with their morning drinks to help alleviate some of their hangover symptoms and to wake them up.

"I have four coffees, two black, and one milk."

"I don't drink coffee." Said Sai, as he felt embarrassed while using a straw to drink his milk.

"Anyways..." Naruto said as he looked strangely at Sai, turning it towards Shikamaru. "So why were you so happy last night buddy? If it weren't for Choji..we were going to assume..you know..." Naruto winked and rubbed his shoulders on him.

Shikamaru blushed a little at the thought. "No..no..it's just that..well I asked her on a date."

"Yeah...and!?" Choji intervened, very happily.

"She said yes." Shikamaru said happily. His cheeks felt warm after that statement.

"When is it?" Sauske asked, trying to make friendly conversation.

"Wednesday night." He replied with a smile.

"So you think she's a keeper?" Asked Sai.

"I think so." He replied quickly with an even bigger smile.

Shikamaru looked outside through the big window the diner had. He felt a rush of adrenaline in his stomach. He knew somewhere out in the streets of Konoha, stood a beautiful, smart, hybrid eyed, kunoichi, attending to the silent pleas of flowers. He felt a weird sensation in his stomach.

"Shika, are you ok? You look like you just ate a raw egg. Funny we haven't even received our food yet." Naruto said with a bit of concern.

"I don't know, I have a strange feeling in my stomach, it's trying to force itself out."

"Well if you're going to barf, do it in the bathroom please!" Choji said in a panic.

"No, no, I'm fine! I swear. I just have some weird feeling stuck in my stomach."

"Ok but if you barf we are leaving. No questions asked. We don't want to clean up your vomit."

Two minutes passed in silence, no vomit, but Shikamaru began a humming a tune.

"Well do you feel better?" Asked Sai.

He began:

In a light voice..._Somewhere she is over there. _The guys began to look at eachother hoping to find an answer for this. _Yes tell everyone, do a twirl. I am in love with the flower shop girl. _Everyone's eyes sprang open. Shikamaru was singing in a low voice..about Ino? Shikamaru thrusted himself on top of the table and begun singing with all his might.

_"Yes tell everyone, do a twirl. I'm in love with the flower shop girl._

_She gives my bodies chills, makes me wanna hurl."_

"Please don't." Naruto cut in.

_"And every minute- every hour. My love grows taller like a tower._

_Because I'm in love with a girl who is a pretty as a flower."_

The restaurant staff soon began to sing along with their new favorite customer.

_"If_ _someone_ _tries_ _to_ _get_ _her_ _surely_ _I'll_ _throw_ _a_ _fist_, _beauty_ _that_ _cannot_ _be_ _hid_

_Not even if it was hidden in the mist."_

_"Look at her pretty face not even a zit or a cyst."_

Choji quickly joined in

_"Too bad you are a lazy boy. Tisk tisk."_

"_Her hair is shinier than foil"_

"_Everytime I see her she makes my thingy recoil!"_

_"Yes tell everyone! Do a twirl!_

_I am in love with the flower shop girl!"_

"_She gives off a different prose._

_I don't have a foot fetish but I love her toes!"_

Sauske cut in, "Ewwwww"

"_Today is sunday, only lord knows_

_How much I think of her! More beautiful than a rose!"_

_"So yes tell everyone! Do a twirl! Because I am in love with_

_The flower shop giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrlllllll lllllllllll!"_

Shikamaru finished singing and found himself out of breath and blushing, realizing what he just did. He was met with an immediate applause from both the customers, the staff, and most citizens that walked by the window and saw the jonin singing.

The waiter came back to their table with their breakfast.

"I must say, she's must be one special girl, for you to be pulling stunts like that." She said with a smile, while handing out the food.

"She is I guess." Shikamaru said with a growing smile as he looked at his plate. Too embarrassed to make eye contact with the waitress or any of his friends.

_**A**_**/N: Again just wanted to give a big "Thank you" to all the readers and the followers! I had a bunch of fun writing this chapter. I also again would like to thank my editor! She's the most hardworking author I have ever seen. I really hoped you guys enjoyed the Avatar reference I put to Zuko and Uncle Iroh. Love that show and Sauske reminds me a lot like Zuko. Anyways like I said, feel free to R/R and don't be afraid to suggest something! Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden**

It was a typical Monday morning in Konoha. The trees held secrets of those who passed by last night walking, the streets began to be wore down once again, as footstep after footstep walked on them. The village had a dreary feel to it. That was mostly due to the fact that it was a Monday, and no one likes Monday's. Shikamaru began to shake away his happy-go-lucky smile for he had a class to teach. Ino and Sakura woke up from their weekends to only be met with the smell of hospital sanitizer and of the food served by the hospital's kitchen staff. Choji started his Monday with a pleasant surprise, being given a normal "**C**" ranked mission, to the Land of Sugar Cane. Nothing quiet difficult just make sure the customer got home safely. Naruto was met with piles of paperwork as Kakashi called in "sick". Funny how Shizune did as well, and then there was Sauske. Sauske had returned back home to Konoha a week ago from his phase of "trying to destroy Konoha", with that in mind, he knew it was going to take him awhile to get fully adjusted back to the village, and for his fellow neighbors to welcome him back. For starters he didn't have a place to live in, and took Naruto on his offer of letting him live there until he "got back on his feet." Truth be told he didn't know when that was going to happen. Konoha still hadn't forgotten what he tried to do not so long ago, so he knew finding a job was hard, but he at least needed to try.

Sauske left Naruto's home looking for a job. Now he realized his options were limited. He knew that the city government didn't trust him. So there went any chances of a teaching or a police job. What type of job could a seventeen year old get? He searched the streets of Konoha looking for a job. While wandering the streets he was met with faces of disgust. The only smile he received so far was when he gave a beggar some of his pocket change, only for him to be later cursed out and vilified when he realized the loose change he gave the beggar was enough to get a snack at the vending machine by Gohito Groceries. He soon realized it was already midday and proceeded to return home until a stroke of luck turned in his favor.

"_Now hiring. Please speak to manager."_ Sauske read to himself as he saw an old man hang the sign right across the street. Without hesitation he snatched the sign and ran inside, to claim the job.

"I am here to take the job!" Sauske said proudly as he flung open the door.

"Oooh, perfect!" The old man said with delight.

"Not so fast...Dad! Wait..." Said a voice coming from what appeared to be the backroom.

Out came a portly man carrying boxes that were over his head. The man quickly put down the boxes and said to his father.

"Father I understand we need the help right now, but you cannot just hand the job to any stranger that walks in here."

He quickly realized that Sauske stood there hoping to get hired, and turned to introduce himself.

"I apologize for not noticing you. I am Kazunari and this here is my father, Tsuyoshi. Together we own Tsuoyoshi and Son Party Rentals." He said proudly while extending his arm for a handshake.

The two shook hands and Kazunari signaled to Sauske to come to the back room.

"Ok before we look into hiring you, we need to look at your record."

Sauske gulped at the thought of the word 'record'. He knew that he had made past mistakes, but who didn't? Now certainly they weren't on par to what Sauske did, but he needed a thought to help relax him.

"Ok..full name?" Buzzed Kazunari

"Uciha, Sauske."

"Alrightey...let's see what we got here." Kazunari said as he scrolled down to find information on Sauske. "Hmmph...this is interesting. Says you deserted Konoha when you were fourteen, and it also says you tried to destroy it not so long ago." Kazunari's face had turned from one of a smiling middle-aged man, to one filled with doubt and anxiety.

"Look Sauske..." He started before he was cutoff.

"I know I messed up before. I get it! I really do. Truth is I am a human being as well. Are we not entitled to make some bad choices in our lives? I'm still only seventeen!" Sauske began to ramble on and on.

"Sauske would you please stop?" Kazunari said trying to be reassuringly as possible. Sauske immediately became quiet. "Good. What I am trying to say is because we all make mistakes, and sure these one's are a freaking doozy, I am willing to hire you." He said with a straight face.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Look you don't need to be a little angel to work at a party store. Just come to work on time, do your job right, and if you ever disrespect me or my father, I swear I will kick your ass so hard that you'll never be able to sit properly again. Understand? Kazunari said as he began searching for a piece of paper.

"Oh and another thing."

"Yes, sir?"

"You begin work today. Here is the address of where you are headed." He slid Sauske a piece of paper with an address on it.

"What am I doing? Balloons? Operating a candied ramen machine?"

"Even better." Kazunari said with a fake smile as he pulled out a box and placed it on the table. "Look inside."

Sauske reached inside the box only to be met with a frog costume. He pulled the costume out. "Aren't these Naruto's frog buddies or summonn partners?" He said trying to hide the look of confusion from his face.

"Yes they are, but the kids around the village really seem to like those two frogs a lot. So go wear the yellow frog suit and report to the party in about...-glances at wall clock- thirty minutes."

"Thirty...Yes, sir." Sauske said without trying to show regret.

Soon the once proud shinobi ran through the streets in his Gamatatsu costume. Weaving his way past the foot traffic and laughs he soon made it to the address written on the paper given to him. He could tell it was a little kids party by the way the backyard was set up. He decided to knock on the door and hope someone would instruct him, on what exactly he had to do. Soon came out a middle-aged woman with light brown hair.

"Oh, Hi there! You must be the performer!" She quickly dragged in the yellow frog.

While walking to the backyard, where the party was held, Sauske quickly stopped and asked. "What do you want me to do? I'm sorry but I'm new to this."

The brown haired lady let out a sigh of anger. "They always send amateurs for these events. I'll have you know sir, I paid good money for the kids to play with Gamatatsu for the whole day!" She barked at him.

"_The whole day? Who in there right mind wants to hang out with a frog the whole day?"_ Sauske thought to himself. "Alright lady don't get your panties in a wad. I can entertain these kids." Sauske replied triumphantly. He reached for the door.

"Oh and another thing...they like to play rough." She said with a sly smile.

Sauske took a deep breath, and tried to compose himself. He was never really known for being nice and friendly, but at this point he at least needed to try to be. He opened the door.

"Hey kids look! It's me Gamatatsu!" He said trying to impersonate his voice. It was a bad impersonation but at least he was trying.

All the kids immediately ran to the man in the Gamatatsu costume.

The day was long for Sauske. The kids were all rough and cruel, calling and asking their mothers on why Gamikichi didn't show up.

"C'mon kids my brother had something very important to do today." He said trying to lift the mood of the party.

"I wanted mommy to get Gamikichi, not his fat, yellow brother!" The birthday girl said as she stomped on his foot.

Sauske knew he had to think of something fast or else he was going to lose the attention of these kids fully. He had an idea. He wasn't sure if it was going to work but at this point he was grasping for straws.

"Let's have some fun! Does anybody know the froggy song?"

The children almost immediately came running back to him. All screaming in his ear. "I know the froggy song!"

_"Can you hear the froggy song?"_

_"Yes_ _I_ _hear_ _the_ _froggy_ _song_!" The children screamed in unison.

_"Can_ _you_ _hear_ _the_ _froggy_ _song_? "

"_Yes I hear the froggy song!"_

"_Ribbity, ribbity."_

_"Ribbity_, _ribbity_. "

Sauske and the children sang this song straight for three hours, however he didn't mind nor complain. As a child he never had much of a chance to go to other children's birthday's nor did he have many of his own ever since that tragic day. They leap frogged and he facepainted most of the kids. Time flew by. Eventually the party died and Sauske was about to leave.

"No don't go, Gamatatsu!" Said the birthday girl as she clamped down on his leg.

"But.."

"Please just go in the bounce house with us, one more time!" The girl said, appearing as she was about to cry.

"Okay..okay." Sauske said as he let the little girl hold his hand as they walked into the bounce house.

"Guys look who I brought back!" She exclaimed to her friends.

They all began bouncing including Sauske. He rarely ever saw a bounce house, let alone bounce in one. Suddenly the kids found a fifth gear as the sugar from all the cake and candy had seemingly entered their bloodstream. They all decided to pounce on Gamatatsu and eventually they we're on top of him, disabling his movement. Sauske was in no worry however, for he thought that it was another game he was a part of.

His calmness soon vanished when a large child in particular scram "Check out this wrestling move, my dad taught me!"

For Sauske everything went in slow motion. His mind was caught on the song "Il Pagliacci". He watched in horror as the child jumped from the highest point in the bounce house. When he landed, Sauske's eyes shut.

The loud beeping had awoken the injured Sauske. He looked around his surroundings in disbelief. _"Fluorescent_ _lights?_ _Tile?_ _A_ _heart_ _monitor_? _How did I end up in the hospital?" _He thought to himself. He quickly tried to call for a nurse, but suddenly his arm couldn't reach to press the button. _"What?" _He saw that one of his arms was in a sling. He then shouted for a nurse.

Out came a pink haired kunoichi that Sauske immediately remembered.

"Glad to see you have finally woken up." Sakura said as she was refilling his pitcher of water.

"What? Since when? How?" A lost Sauske said.

"After you left Konha I went under Lady Tsunade's apprenticeship as a medical ninja." She said while recording his heart rate numbers on a patient log. "Ino soon followed and we both work here. Well Ino is part time due to her mother in need of assistance with the flower shop."

"No..no I've known that. How did I.." He was interrupted.

"A 125 pond eight year old landed straight on your chest, breaking your collarbone." She blurted. She couldn't help but laugh. "By the way.. nice costume." She pointed at his Gamatatsu costume that sat on the visitors chair.

"Thanks." He said curtly, still surprised at everything.

"What time is it?" He said while trying to look around.

"It's 11:47 PM."

"Kami! How long have I've been knocked out?"

"Quite awhile. Fortunately for you the break was not too severe, saving yourself from surgery." She said with a slight frown.

"You work the night shift?" Sauske said trying to make small talk. It was an awkward situation. The nurse taking care of him was the last person he saw before leaving Konoha. She expressed all of her feelings about him in desperation of trying to make him stay, and now she was taking care of him. It also appeared that she was the only nurse on the floor, and he had been sleeping for approximately 5 hours, so that was out of the question. Sakura began walking out of the room.

"Hey Sakura."

"Yes?" She turned around happily hoping his request would lead to some real discussion.

"Can I have some juice? If you don't mind of course." He said in a soft voice.

"Sure thing." Sakura's smile shrunk. As she walked away from the room.

Sakura felt the lump in her throat. She started to tear up. _"Why does he always treat me like this? Why can't he just let me in?" _She opened the refrigerator looking for juice. _"What kind did he want? He probably doesn't even care."_ She thought to herself, as she was pouring apple juice in a cup. Her silent sobs caused her to spill some of it. The only reason she decided to stay past her shift was to take care of Sauske, once she found out that he was admitted earlier that evening.

"Here you go. I didn't know what juice you wanted so I brought you apple. I hope it's fine." Sakura said as she entered the door.

"Thank you." Sauske said looking out of the window. Something about the emptiness of the streets of a Monday night made him feel pleasant.

"Yup. There is not a soul out there." She said as she noticed that he was staring outside.

Sauske tried to sit up, he struggled but eventually he did. "So tell me how everyone has been." He said with a look of genuine curiosity.

"Well Naruto..."

"No..I know what Naruto did. Remember I live with him now." He said with a small laugh that quickly turned into violent coughing.

"Don't try to move so much." A concerned Sakura said.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'm ok. Anyways what I tried to say was how have you been?" He said with a sly smile.

"Oh..well"

The two soon began touching on many topics, such as "Why is Kakashi the intern Hokage?, How was her and Ino's medical training? Did Naruto have a crush on Hinata?" And many other questions as well. They laughed and joked while reminiscing. Sauske soon looked at the clock and saw how late it had gotten.

"Woah..its 3:30! I know this would be a real hassle for you bu..."

"Let me guess..more apple juice?"

"If you would be so kind." He said while handing her his cup.

She happily took the cup and walked away from the room for the sixth time that night.

When she came back she was surprised to find Sauske sleeping, however she noticed he fell asleep with a pencil and a thin paper in his hands. Sakura carefully attempted to take both the pencil and the thin paper away from his grasp. Once she did it she was perplexed to see that the thin paper was a reciept from a breakfast diner from yesterday, until she turned it around.

_Dear Sakura,_

_I am sorry for being an ass to Kohona and you._

_~ Sauske_

She saw that some words were faded away and some looked like they were written not so long ago. She thought to herself, _"I_ _guess that explains why he made me get apple juice for him so many times." _She blushed at that thought. With a look on the clock she realized she needed as much rest as she could salvage for tomorrow. She walked out the door and whispered "Goodnight, Gamatatsu" with a smile.

Immediately when he heard the door close Sauske's face grew a smile. He was never really good at apologizing to people face to face. So why not do it when you're 'sleeping'?

**A/N: I know this chapter didn't have any ShikaIno in it, but well the story bio does say SauSaku and NaruHina as well. So I need to show them develop as well. Next chapter however, I promise you guys would enjoy! Please read and feel free to review. Don't be afraid to throw in a suggestion. Thank you for reading!**

"


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. Nor do I own Louie or James Maddock's song 'Bad Night'**

Shikamaru kept on glancing at the clock, It was 2:56 PM. He was awaiting for the bell, the bell that signified the beginning of his day, and the end of trying to teach the snot-nosed shinobi of how to make a basic shadow clone. It's not that Shikamaru hated kids. He just hated when they acted up and didn't get a certain stance or hand gesture right the first time. He glanced once more at the clock, it read 2:57. He sat there in his chair tapping his fingers on the desk. His mind was miles away from the classroom, and focused on tonight's date with Ino. He planned on- wait a second... he didn't have any plans! Shikamaru immediately realized this and cursed his laziness. He snapped his fingers as an idea came to his head.

"Listen up you guys. Whoever can name me a movie that's in theaters gets a piece of candy!" He said while lifting up a huge jar of candy. Granted, most of it was expired as it was mostly leftover candy from Halloween two years ago, but the kids didn't know.

Immediately the kids threw out random titles of movies in theaters.

"The Shinobi Seven!" Exclaimed one.

"The lonely Salamander!" Shouted another.

Shikamaru soon realized these were kids he was asking, so of course their responses were going to be kids movies. He stretched his lower jar and said. "Has your parents seen any movies in theaters currently?" The responses came to Shikamaru's liking.

"Oooh! Um...the..Phantom of the Sand Village!"

Shikamaru liked the sound of the title. "Quick tell me a quick review! " He said while throwing a piece of candy to a student.

"I don't know. My parents didn't let me watch it!" The student put the candy in his mouth and immediately spit it out. "This candy tastes like.." The bell rang cutting the sentence short.

"Bye guys!" Said Shikamaru as he ran through the door."Help yourself to more candy if you want!"

Shikamaru was now free for approximately three hours. He decided to pay his mother a visit since he forget to visit her on Sunday. He walked on over to his mother's house and knocked on the door.

The door opened slowly, revealing a pale, and distressed mother woman. Her skin was pasty and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Hi mom!" He said as he gave a quick hug to his mother.

"Hi Shika..come in please. I have tea boiling right at this very moment." His mother, Yoshino said.

The two walked into the kitchen where Shikamaru asked his mother if she needed any help.

"Don't worry about me. I can still take care of myself, you know? She said while washing the dishes, she soon playfully flung a few soap bubbles at her son.

"I know ma, it's just that I don't like the idea of you being alone." Shikamaru said shyly.

"What do you mean alone? I have my friends and I have my son, that's all I'll ever need." She looked at him smiling.

"I just wish you had an extra pair of hands to help you around the house." Shikamaru replied while rubbing the side of his head. "You know I would..."

"Shika stop it! I am fine. I just want you to stop worrying so much about me. I love you more than life itself, all I ask of you is for you not to forget to visit me when I'm an old lady who can't walk anymore." She said chuckling and pouring the tea into cups. She then sat down on the family sofa. "So tell me how did your weekend go?"

"I really did nothing...except hang out with Ino and the boys."

"Tell me more." She said while fishing around for sweets.

"Well I actually took her out to dinner and we had a nice time. As friends though, and..."

"Did you take her somewhere nice?"

"Just to a stand that served ramen." His mother gave him a smile.

"Tell me how is Choj.."

"Mom, how was your first date with dad again?" Shikamaru cut in.

His mother blinked, surprised at his question. "Uh..he took me to the beach. Why the sudden interest?" She sat down again.

"Well it's because I asked Ino out on a real date after dinner, and she said yes." His cheeks once again felt warm after just saying that.

"Oh, my little Shika is growing up!" She placed her hand on his. "You know father always thought you had a soft side for Ino. I thought you were just being friendly, but this news brings me great joy!" She said while putting many sugar cubes into her tea.

"Well...apparently Choji also figured that out- Don't you think that's a little too much sugar?" He asked with a slight tone of concern.

"Oh. I apologize." She said while throwing it down the sink, and quickly resuming to washing the dishes. Even the ones that were already clean.

"Mom stop it!" Shikamaru said as he grabbed his mother and took her away from the sink. "You know you have me really worried! I swear next week i'm going to start looking for a maid. You're wearing yourself thin!

"Oh pis posh! Don't worry about me, now go and enjoy yourself tonight! Say hi to Ino and for me." She pecked her son on the cheek and before he realized it, his mother had kicked him out of the house.

"Troublesome." He glanced at his watch. It read 4:24 PM. He decided to just head home and take a nap and get ready for tonight.

He woke up and rubbed his whole face. He didn't even look at the clock. He knew he probably had to meet Ino in about an hour judging by the look of the sky. He stood up from his bed and proceed to head to the shower. After he had gotten cleaned up, he finally looked at his watch. 6:31 PM it read. He proceed to head downstairs and onto the streets of Konoha. The streets we're crowded due to it being around the time where many working in the offices of the Government District were allowed to leave their desks and go home. He was just another figure in the foot traffic. After a few minutes walking, he soon made it to Yamanaka Flowers. He took a look outside the window and he saw Ino working the cashier. He unconsciously wore a small smile on his face. He thought about tapping on the window and waving to the beautiful cashier, his face however became pressed against the glass very loudly when a group of kids accidentally pushed Shikamaru while running.

"AHHHH!" a little girl cried out. "Mom there is a weird man outside the window."

Ino laughed at the sight of Shikamaru's face squished against the glass.

"Don't worry little girl. He means no harm, he's just a little crazy in the head and comes here every day trying to give me a flower, looks like he doesn't have one is his hand."

"Mommy can we give him one?"

The little girl's mother, took a look at the still dazed Shikamaru and asked Ino "Will he leave the store alone, if we give him one?"

"Yes, he usually does." Ino said why playing with her bang that covered her eye.

The mother and daughter walked out of the store with their bouquet. The little girl approached Shikamaru. "Here you go mister. Hope you get better soon." She gave him a blue wildflower. He looked confused and was about to say thank you, but the mother snatched her daughter away. "I told you don't stop and make conversation with that lunatic." Shikamaru was still in a state of confusion as he saw them walk away. _"Whatever, I got a free flower."_ He thought to himself.

He walked through the doors and saw Ino.

"Hey...so are.."

"SHIKAMARU! What a beautiful flower you picked out for me! She blushed and giggled as she put the flower in her hair. I wonder how you got this?!" She asked in a playful voice.

Ino's face said it all. "You had something to do with this! Troublesome woman!"

"Don't be such a sour puss, the flower is beautiful." She pecked him on the cheek and hugged him. "So where are we going tonight?" She asked.

"We are catching a move if it's fine with you." He said. Hoping the plans didn't disappoint her.

"Perfect! Give me five minutes, my clothes are upstairs." She walked away not without first putting the 'Closed' sign in front of the store.

She soon came back wearing an orange top with a white skirt. Simple, yes, It did highlight Ino's eyes in which Shikamaru found himself getting more lost in each time.

Shikamaru quickly regained himself as he was temporarily lost, _again._

"Lets go!" An excited Ino said while grabbing his arm as they walked out of he store.

They walked to the theater.

"Have you heard what happened to Sauske?" Asked Ino.

"No. Why?" He glanced at her. Hoping nothing bad would come out of her mouth.

"He got injured in the funniest way!" She said laughing.

They kept on talking until they reached the theater. Where Shikamaru purchased two tickets for the _Phantom of the Sand village. _They entered the half empty theater to view the film. Shikamaru thought he was in store for a horror film, it ended up being a musical. Poor Shikamaru. On the bright side it was always a good thing to see Ino happy. She kept on humming the tunes of the film after they had left.

"You really liked that movie, huh?" Shikamaru laughed to himself.

"Yup! I felt so bad for the phantom! Can you imagine having feelings for one person and never being able to tell that person?" She said walking with him.

"It must really blow. I think we are all like him though."

"What makes you say that?" She stopped walking, giving him a stare.

"Well think about it Ino! Everyone has that one person they like, but they are either too afraid to say something, or they don't want to mess up what they have already. Even if it's nothing." He said with a sigh afterwards.

"Like..how Hinata likes Naruto?" Peered Ino.

"Exactly."

They both continued walking silently. If anyone were to see them, then they would have laughed at the tension. It seemed the whole world could have felt the tension between them, but not them. They were to nervous to even realize it.

"You know Shika, we can still do something..if you want?" She looked down trying to avoid eye contact.

"Sure. Where do you want to go?" Trying to hide his excitement by masking his voice into a deeper tone.

"Let's go to the hill! The sky is filled with the stars tonight." She grabbed his arm and ran to the hill.

They quickly reached the hill due in most part to Ino dragging Shikamaru through the streets in excitement. They sat down and enjoyed the night sky. After minutes of pure silence and awe Shikamaru broke the silence.

"I'm more of a cloud guy, but I get why you like stargazing."

Ino turned her body over to him looking at him, her face in bewilderment.

"It's because you like the attention."

"Excuse me? Her slight smile was wiped away quickly.

"Yeah, its cause during the day the Sun has to shine on everyone, but at night when you're up here alone..The stars only shine on you to see how truly beautiful you are."

Ino blushed at the statement and whispered in his ear. "Thank you. Remember i'm not the only one here tonight." Shikamaru blushed even harder.

_"Is this really happening?"_ Shikamaru thought to himself. He was lying down on the grass next to the blonde haired girl he always had feelings for. Ino suddenly crept over him. They were face to face. Their eyes were locked onto each others. Shikamaru was nose to nose with his former teammate. The same teammate that had been with him through thick and thin, the same teammate that always bothered him when he was little. If Shikamaru had any past thoughts of trying to not liking Ino, they were gone and lost in her eyes, hoping to never be found or retrieved. Shikamaru found himself gravitating towards Ino and her lips. They were less than an inch from making contact, when Shikamaru's phone went off.

He silently cursed his phone, he checked it and saw it was..Sakura?

"Sakura is calling me." He said.

"Sakura?" Ino said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Do I answer?"

"She wouldn't call this late unless it's something really important."

"**Hello?"**

"**Shikamaru?! Shikamaru?! Is that you?"**

"**Yes. Sakura it's me. Everything ok?"**

"**I'm here working in the hospital late tonight and your mother was admitted just a few minutes ago!"**

"**WHY? WHAT'S WRONG?! IS SHE OK!" **Shikamaru's eyes bolted open, and his breath immediately became shorter and shorter.

**"I don't know! I don't know! I'm sorry! Please just come down!" **Shikamaru could here Sakura begin to break down and cry.

**"I'll be there! Don't worry!"**

Shikamaru hung up, and turned to Ino.

"What's wrong?!" A worried Ino said.

"My mother is in the hospital." He looked down in worry, only to be moved when Ino tried to grab his arm and run towards the hospital.

"It's quicker if we go by the roofs!" Exclaimed Shikamaru. He grabbed her hand as they jumped from roof to roof. They arrived at the hospital three minutes later.

Shikamaru and Ino ran through the hospital doors.

"Where is Sakura!?" They both shouted.

Sakura quickly heard their calls and ran to them.

"Guys! I'll lead the way!"

They ran through the stairs because the elevator was out of service.

"There's the room!" Sakura pointed to a room at the end of the hall.

They were all running to the door only to be stopped by a doctor.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru growled, trying to shove past him.

"I'm sorry I really have no time to talk, I stopped you three because you cannot enter. We are about to perform surgery. I'm sorry." walked away while putting his gloves on.

Shikamaru tried to see past the window of what they were doing to his mother. He couldn't even see as the view was blocked by a sea of teal scrubs in a circle, surrounding the operating room.

Shikamaru balled up his fists, and threw a punch at the wall. "They won't even tell me what's wrong with my own mother!" He yelled trying to fight back tears. Sakura and Ino held him back from throwing another one.

"Let's just go sit down. Shika I promise you your mom is going to be okay." Ino said as she put her hands on his face to keep his head straight. "Let's find somewhere to sit"

The three sat down in the waiting room. They were waiting for hours until someone came back to inform them on how the surgery went. All three of their heads shot up.

"Your mother is now in stable condition. Her pressure is back to normal. We had to open a heart valve to allow the blood trapped in to continue flowing. Otherwise than that, she's fine." The doctor said with a look of relief.

"So what did she have?" A relieved Shikamaru asked.

"She had a Heart Attack, any longer and she would have suffered a serious stroke."

Ino rubbed Shikamaru's arm in trying to comfort him.

"Can we visit her?" Asked Ino.

"Sorry Ino, she needs to rest right now. I suggest all three of you get some as well." The assistant said as he looked at the hospital clock. 4:49 AM it read.

"I guess your going home Shikamaru? Asked Sakura.

"No, not right away I mean. I'll probably get something like a coffee and try to process this night." He said with a face full of gloom.

"I'll go with you." Ino butt in.

"You don't have to."

"But I want to." She smiled at him, playing with his fingers.

Sakura said bye to her friends, and walked home. Shikamaru and Ino trudged slowly along market district. Most stores were closed, there were barely any 24 hour places to eat in Konoha, but they managed to find one. It was an all day buffet. When they arrived it was empty and sat themselves down. Ino didn't really eat and just drank tea, Shikamaru was stuffing his face with the chicken leftovers that had been out there for the dinner guests and filling his plate with freshly made pancakes. He sat down with Ino, he still couldn't get his mother out of his thoughts. He took a heavy sigh and pushed away his food.

"Shikamaru! Please try to relax! Getting anxious isn't going to help anyone." Ino said with big eyes.

Shikamaru just grunted. He felt like crap, and nothing was helping. The empty seating area made him feel alone. The music from the radio was soft and lifeless. Then another song came on.

_You had a bad night_

_Had a real bad night._

_Kind of night where you wished you didn't have to have more nights_

_You had a bad night_

Shikamaru began to look at Ino and remember she chose to be with him at this moment. Through thick and thin.

_Boy was that a shitty shitty night_

_Wasn't your first and it wasn't your worst._

He reached out his hand across the table. Ino grabbed it with a smile and they locked eyes.

_But all the same could someone please stop these shitty shitty nights?_

_Now the night is over_

_Bring back the sky._

Shikamaru leaned in and gave Ino a deep , passionate kiss. She pushed back in shock. Shikamaru's face was in disbelief. He thought it was actually going to happen.

"You caught me off gaurd." Ino whisperd with a blush. She then pulled Shikamaru in for an even deeper and more passionate kiss.

_This is how a bad night turns to day._

**A/N: Was I right about next chapter having Shikaino? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Btw if you want to know the name of this song, it was featured in the season 1 finale of the show 'Louie'. Please Read and don't be afraid to review. Don't be shy to throw in a recommendation. Thank you for reading! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, oh boy, I would have made ShikaIno cannon by now. Even though they are getting close to it. ;)**

Ino finished her tea and Shikamaru finished his meal, and they were soon back into the streets of Konoha. This time however, they were holding hands. Shikamaru tried replaying the situation and what had just taken place. He looked at it from every angle and his mind thought of every scenario, but to get a kiss, no scratch that, two kisses with Ino? It was safe to say he was content at the very least. They looked into the sky that was a mix of orange and blue hues, and saw all the stars disappear. They walked in silence, there were no fitting words that could describe their emotions. Their footsteps synchronized each others, which was the only thing that Shikamaru was thinking of, well that, and the kiss. Soon the pair made it to a street intersection where they usually parted ways. Shikamaru's apartment was on one side of the village, and Yamanaka Flowers lay on the other. Under normal circumstances the pair would usually wave their friendly goodbyes and walk away, but the night they shared was anything but 'normal' or 'friendly'. Ino looked at the crossing sign and secretly held a grudge against the inanimate man walking, for signifying this was were they parted ways.

They both stopped and saw that inanimate man. Shikamaru took a deep breath.

"Tonight...was fun." He said with a gingerly smile, and looking down at Ino.

"Yeah, it was. I'm sorry about your mother." She held a light frown.

"It's ok. She's going to be better." He said while trying to wipe away her frown. The image of the inanimate man grew brighter.

Ino took a glance at it, and with a sigh said.

"Looks like that's enough for tonight. I would ask you to walk me home, but I know you are busy and I don't want to distract you." Her frown lingered.

"Bye Shika." She said as she kissed him on the cheek and began walking away.

Shikamaru had a busy day ahead of him, he had to first report to the academy to request for an opt-out day, then he had to spend the whole day at the hospital. For a busy man his laziness still showed, as he leaned against a wall watching the blonde kunoichi who had his heart walk away. He began to walk towards the academy, his brain was consumed with the thought of the kiss, and he stopped dead in his tracks and questioned himself. _Wait, does this mean we're dating? _After all, Shikamaru never did formally ask her to be his girlfriend. He could have waited for later on tonight to make a visit to the flower shop and ask her but it seemed _'troublesome' _in his mind, he wanted to know if that kiss had really meant anything and if they actually had a future together. He couldn't wait, especially after waiting all those years to finally have the courage to act on his feelings towards Ino, and with that he was off and running. He quickly tried to make this romantic as possible. He grabbed whatever seemed like a flower on the road while running. He began screaming her name across the barren streets.

"Inooooooo! Inoooooo!"

The blonde haired woman turned around at the sound of her name. She was surprised to see who was calling her. She saw the pineapple shaped head of his running towards her, and her stomach cringed in excitement. "_Is he going to kiss me goodbye? He was always such a gentleman." _She paused and blushed at the thought.

"Shikamaru!"

"Ino." He said while trying to catch his breath after running nearly three blocks to get to her. "I...-Heavy breathing- forgot to ask you something."

"Yes?" She peered ever so beautifully, blinking.

"Listen, I've been mad about you for about four years now, and I just need to know, after all we've been through in the past and tonight..will you be my girlfriend?"

He reached out his hand to pull out the flowers he rapidly tried to get for this moment. He grimaced at what he pulled out, it was a couple of dollarweeds.

Much to Shikamaru's surprise. Ino just giggled and accepted the weeds.

"You like them?" He asked quizzicaly

"They may not be my personal favorite, but in a way there sorta like you."

Shikamaru's face shrunk at her reply.

"What do you mean?"

"Weeds have a hard exterior and a soft interior if you look inside of it. Many people are turned off by it but if you just spend time with it, you truly learn to value it. It's a protector as well, always acting as a defense barrier against the cold winter winds and harsh summer sun from damaging the other flowers."

"Oh...I didn't..."

She stopped him mid-sentence with a kiss. Ino pulled back and said.

"But if you want to know the answer, the answer is yes." She smiled at him, locked into his eyes.

Shikamaru still in shock, blushed and just scratched his head.

"Sooo, um can I walk you home?" He bashfully wondered.

"I thought you would never ask." She smiled.

Shikamaru had walked Ino home.

"Well I guess I'll see you later." Shikamaru said while pecking her on the cheek.

"Where are you going right now?"

"I must report to the academy and request an opt out day, then head on over to the hospital to see my mother." He cringed at the last part of the sentence.

Ino put her hands over his and whispered "I'll see you in a bit." She backed away not without first quickly pop-kissing him on her retreat. She pulled out the store keys and proceeded to enter.

Shikamaru tapped on the glass and waved goodbye. Ino saw and waved as well. He then began walking towards the academy. He had an extra hop to his step, the usual limp smile he wore grew into a cheerful grin. He eventually made it to the Academy. He went straight to the administration office to file his request. He looked up at the plain wall clock and it read 6:36 AM.

He had about an hour left before class began and he had to teach those little bastards. He sat there alone in the empty office waiting for someone to deal with his request. The door suddenly opened and in came Iruka. The two gave eachother a nod as Iruka took a seat next to his fellow Jonin.

"Nice catch."

Shikamaru's head shot up, not fully understanding the statement.

"Excuse me?"

"I meant congratulations with Ino." Iruka said winking at him. His hands under his pits. He continued. "I saw you guys getting friendly on my way over here. In a way you should thank me, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I was the one who set the teams up." He buzzed followed by a slight chuckle.

"What do you know, maybe your right." Shikamaru joined in on the chuckling.

"Anyways what are you here for? Vacation time?"

"No, opt-out. My mom's in the hospital."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Shikamaru." He placed his hand on his shoulder. "She's alright I hope?"

"Yeah she is, thanks Iruka sensei. Sorry, it still feels weird just calling you Iruka."

Iruka laughed and told Shikamaru to go on and proceed to the hospital, that he would turn in Shikamaru's request. The two shook hands and off he went to the hospital.

Shikamaru was surprised to see the amount of visitors awaiting to see his mother.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto and Choji exclaimed. They both ran up and greeted their friend.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Sakura texted me not too long ago." Said Naruto.

"Ino did the same." Said Choji

"Is she here?" Shikamaru tried to say cooly as possible.

"No, she told me that she got home late last night, and was entering late." Choji gave a slight smile to his best friend.

"Same as Sakura...wait a sec..your date was last night!" Naruto said. Unaware of Shikamaru's mother's incident was the reason if Ino got home late or possibly something else.

"Yup, and I must say, it went rather well." He said with a slight smile, while picking out a magazine to read.

"Tell us Shika!" Naruto begged.

"Well...lets just say, we took our relationship to the next level." He said casually flipping the pages of a magazine.

"You guys had sex!? You dog! Up-top!"

"No, you idiot! We are going out."

"Congratulations Shika!" His blonde friend exclaimed with Choji smiling behind. "She's far away from the idea of your 'average' lady you wanted to marry.

"Well she's just so damn troublesome that she found her way into my mind. Anyways why are we waiting here? Shouldn't we be in my mother's room?" He put down the magazine and glanced at his friends.

"She's still resting." Choji remarked.

Shikamaru gave his best friend a nod of understanding, and they waited only for a short time, due to a surprise.

They saw the Uchiha come out of one of the hospital room with a cast on his right arm, and immediately called out his name.

"Sauske! Sauske is that you?" Naruto said with a loud tone and raising his arms to catch his attention.

Sauske heard snippets of what sounded like his name and looked around until he saw Naruto. He approached them.

"Sauske I forget you were still in here." The smiling Uzumaki said while belting out a loud laugh in remembrance of the cause of his injury.

"Yeah..whatever I can still probably kick your annoying ass with one hand." Sauske replied furiously, in embarrassment of the cause of his injury. He saw that Choji and Shikamaru were around Naruto, and quickly asked, "Are you guys here to visit me?"

"No, my mom actually." Shikamaru said, with a sigh.

"Oh o..k then." Sauske never had the best conversational skills.

"Relax, you're not that important." Said Naruto to Sauske.

"Shut up. Well I hope your mom gets...-err- better Shikamaru."

"Thanks." His face was buried back into the magazine.

Choji intervened "So Sauske what are you doing walking around the hospital?"

Sauske's eyes shot up. Reality was that Sakura had taken care of him during his stay there and he was beginning to enjoy it. They talked to no end, and he was wondering why she wasn't here so far like she usually is, walking to the nurses office. "Just, you know, got bored."

"Do you think you are going to be out of here by Saturday night?" Asked Naruto.

"That's a few days away, maybe. Why?"

"Well we are going out to a club, with everyone."

"I don't know. Clubbing with a messed up arm?" Sauske said disappointedly

"Please Sauske."

"Maybe next week."

"NO! It has to be this week."

"Why?" All three of them chimed in now in wonder of Naruto's obsession of clubbing this Saturday.

"It's...because...Hinata comes back to town, and I want to throw her a party on Saturday.

All three shared the same "ohh."

"So that's why I need you to go. Everyone is going!"

"I just found out about these plans right now!" Exclaimed Choji.

"Yeah Naruto, I'm not so sure if I could go or if I actually should, with my mom and all." Shikamaru cut in.

"I was going to tell you guys today! C'mon please do it for me!" Naruto was begging and clasping his hands.

"I'll see what I can do." Sauske replied. "But I swear you better end up with Hinata after all this."

Naruto knew that he had many chances with the Hyuuga girl in the past, but he squandered everyone of them. He knew he had to do something big, and bold! In order to win her heart.

"Don't worry Sauske. I know what i'm doing."

"We hope so, you aren't exactly a 'closer', Naruto. At least not like our friend Shikamaru over here." Choji remarked pridefully.

"So I heard. Good job man!" Sauske said to the now-drowsy Nara.

"Wait a sec! How did you find out?" Naruto asked

"What? Am I the only one here that gets texts from Sakura?" He said shyly while showing off his phone.

The three just silently nodded at the Uchiha, quietly realizing that Sauske might actually be returning the feelings to Sakura for the first time.

It was now three in the afternoon and Ino and Sakura made their ways to the hospital. They resumed their normal duty. Ino took care of the children and told them stories to put them to rest, and Sakura had the more formal nursing job of taking care of the patients that were admitted. Their schedules eventually made it to their break where the two had begun talking about the only thing on their mind, boys.

"So I really think Sauske has had a deep spiritual or personal change about him Ino, you should see!"

"Don't know and don't care." She said while laughing. "In all seriousness, I am actually really happy for you Sakura. Has he brought up the idea of hanging out?"

"No, I'm just trying to take it slow and let it come naturally. As much as I hope he would, I realize he's not your Shika." She said playfully

Ino's face wore a thin red layer that overcame her cheeks just by the saying of his name. She was joyous and played with her hair to try to bring her back down to earth.

"Look at the flowers he gave me aren't they perfect?" She said pulling out the dollarweeds.

"Uhhmm, Ino..you realize those are weeds right?"

"Yes, but even the most blandest plant has a flower to bloom." She said while gazing at the weed, studying it closer to see more similarities of the plant and her Shika.

"Well, lets just hope you don't think that way towards your store, if not you'll go out of buisness!"

The girls laughed hysterically at this thought, realizing that their break was soon over. They made plans later that night to hang out.

"Are you going to see Shikamaru and his mother?" Peered Sakura

"I have to finish with the kids, then probably as my shift comes to a close will I visit."

"Same."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Shoutout to all the readers and to all ShikaIno shippers. Always keep sailing. Big Shoutout to sumtyms for the work they published this week, and to my only reader in Luxembourg! Thank you all for reading! Next chapter coming soon. R/R.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Yoshino's room was in the middle of the 3rd floor hallway at the hospital. The room was a carbon copy of every other hospital room on the floor; blue tile, light green curtians, a few light chestnut colored drawers for the patients belongings, and a window that overlooked the the newly developed commercial district. Unfortunately for Yoshino, her window had a view of the concrete terrace that lay below, a terrace where ambulances and medical nin often ran to. It was early dusk at 6 PM. Night shift maids began to relieve those of the normal duty maids, which signaled that food was now in preparation for the patients. Slowly the carts began to push out of the kitchen one by one until the kitchen looked like a swarm of hornets, bustling in and out. Two of those hornets happend to be Ino and Sakura.

"What room is she listed under?" Asked Sakura.

Ino pulled up the delivery list and scanned to see a 'Nara'.

"Nikino,..Nara! Here we go...it says 373B."

"B...that means on the left side." Sakura said while checking to see if the food was still hot. "Remember Ino, the food cannot arrive too hot."

"I know, it won't happen like my first time." She said with a faint smile, knowing she accidentally burned Choji's tongue, after being hospitalized for one of his 'food binges' a few months ago.

Shikamaru awoke from his mid-slumber when he heard a knock on the door, immediately followed by it opening. He was relieved to see it was Ino and Sakura.

"Good evening!" They exclaimed while walking to give his mother a warm and friendly hug.

"Girls! It so nice to see the two of you. Shika told me that you may stop by." Yoshino said while releasing the girls from the hug.

"Well it just so happens that it's supper time for the patients." Sakura said as she removed the lid from Yoshino's food.

"Really? I don't remember requesting or writing down anything to eat.

The hospital had prided itself on patient satisfaction and comfort. Everyday it sent out little pamphlets to each patients room, allowing them to pick from an array of options of what they wanted for Breakfast, Lunch and, Dinner.

"Don't worry, I remembered that you liked egg ramen and steamed vegetables." Ino said while pouring the ramen into a bowl.

"Thank you girls." She said with a smile that was a mile wide. Shikamaru rarely ever saw his mother smile like this.

"So how has your stay been so far?" Asked a curious Ino, while giving a grin to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru grinned at her back.

"About as good as anyone with a heart attack can have." She said laughing. Shikamaru could never understand his mother's sense of humor in a time like this. "It's been fine though,.. thanks to you girls." She said.

The girls just smiled at eachother and took a seat.

"Aren't you on shift right now?" She said with an alarming tone. Surprised by them taking seats.

"Well actually are shift ended not too long ago." Said Sakura

"But we stayed to visit you." Injected Ino

"You guys shouldn't have done that. I must be a burden to just visit."

"No you aren't!" Ino said.

"You were always such a nice girl, Ino. Same goes to you Sakura."

They bowed their heads silently to show their gratitude.

"So tell me are you going to Hinata's party this weekend? Choji and Naruto seemed to keep talking about it, as it if was the last party on earth?"

The girls gave each ..other a strange look. Followed by Ino asking with her eyes if Shikamaru had known about this party.

Shikamaru replied. "I just found out a few hours ago as well. Naruto is trying to throw some fancy party to impress Hinata. -clicks tongue- Troublesome if you ask me." He said while folding his arms.

"Ohh shhh, Shika! Go have fun." His mother said.

"It's not that, it's that I don't know if I have somebody who wants to go with me?" He glanced at Ino.

"I'll go with you! I love dancing."

Shikamaru wiped his brow. If there was one thing he didn't like it was dancing, and putting effort in almost anything of course.

"Sure I'll pick you up at 7ish." Shikamaru stood up and walked torwards his mother. "Mother I also forgot to mention something else." He motioned at Ino to stand up and come next to him. She knew what was coming next.

Ino felt her heart pounding. She had always been on good terms with Shikamaru's mother. She had always been nice to her and complimented her growing up, of course their is a difference between friendly compliments and trying to get a mothers acceptance to date her son.

"Mom.." Shikamaru said grabbing her hand and giving her a reassuring smile. He raised their locked hands so his mother could see. "As of yesterday, I asked Ino to be my girlfriend and she said yes." He ended his sentence with crimson cheeks.

His mother shot up and sat up straight and grabbed the two into an embrace. "I...I...I'm so happy for the both of you!"

Ino moved her head around to see Sakura giving her a thumbs up.

Sakura stood up and said "I should be getting home now. It will be dark soon."

"Not without saying goodbye to me." Yoshino said as she stretched her arms even more enveloping the three into a tightly compacted hug.

The doctor entered the room, unable to determine if the hug was act of love or an act of attempted murder, he knocked on the door to break it up.

"I'm sorry to break up...whatever that was." He smiled as he walked towards the bed Yoshino was in and continued. "Alright the last blood test had you..-flips paper- at above average levels of pulse and heart rate, but they are continuing to trend downwards, so that's a good sign. " He picked up a rolling chair and sat down on it. "We need to find a more permanent fix. According to the research that was brought in, the main cause of this attack was stress related, so I'm prescribing you with some anti-anxiety pills. Then we must at least get an CAT scan on that valve that's gave us trouble during your operation."

"Typical doctors. Always trying to bend you over for an extra dime." His mother said defiantly.

"Shh..mother! Excuse me, about those prescriptions...are they safe?"

"Why yes of course, it should tone her down a bit around the house."

"So make her into a potato."

"I didn't say that..you did. I will prescribe your mother with a low daily dosage. To keep her fully functioning."

"And i'm living off a teachers salary. What about generics? No offense ma, you know that every pill is the same crap. Regardless of what brand."

"Couldn't agree more with you son. I don't even think I should be taking these pills."

"I assure you this prescription will be beneficial."

"You can trust him. He's the most caring doctor I've known in this hospital." Ino added.

Shikamaru looked at Ino. "Okay fine. Give us the prescription, and when is the best time to make an appointment to check her valve?"

"Well depends...on your insurance. The sooner the better, but it's not life threatening. Just make sure she relaxes and tones down. I'll get you an estimation." He left the room.

Shikamaru took a look at his mother. "You hear that mom? Stop being so troublesome and calm down." He said laughing.

"Your father married me because I was troublesome. So be thankful for me, that you're here." She repiled wittingly.

The doctor came back with the estimate. Due to overflow of scheduled appointments, and Shikamaru's teacher health benefits that barely benefited anyone, the appointment was scheduled for late October.

It was a dark and windy Saturday afternoon. Naruto was awaiting patiently at the train station for any signs of Hinata. He had stationed himself there waiting on the bench for almost an hour now. He waited. He constantly looked at the clock which had turned from 4:47 PM to 5:40 PM. He was nervously awaiting for Train 21. It was scheduled to arrive at 6 PM, but Naruto was too nervous to move. He feared that somehow the train would come twenty minutes ahead of time if he left his spot. Amazingly nervousness can quickly be defeated by gift shops, which he went into one hoping to get a snowglobe of Konoha for Hinata. They were not dating, but they could have, so many times in the past, but he messed every opportunity up.

He looked at each snowglobe, carefully inspecting it. Truth was he didn't know what he was inspecting. They all looked the same, but each one appeared to have a different variation of colors.

_"Hinata likes purple right? Wait, no that's Ino! Hinata has worn purple before. Purple? Pink? That's Sakura! Do all girls like colors with the letter 'p'? Black? I like black it's simple." _Naruto walked out of the gift shop with a black snowglobe of Konoha.

He waited on the empty bench. He almost bought a watch from a vendor just to make sure the time was right.

_Tick...tick...tick. _These were the longest minutes of Naruto's life. His mind was racing. Imagining the perfecf scenario of how they would reconnect. He wondered if anyone told Hinata that he was waiting for her when she disembarked. He hoped so. The party was supposed to be a surprise, not this. _"This might come off as stalkerish." _He was about to call Sakura and ask her if everybody was going to go tonight, when he heard a hiss of steam. His face was warmed by the smog the train let out. Another hiss escaped, which led to the station being filled with mothers, fathers, carpenters, businessmen, and more walks of life. He stood up angling to get a better view. He was met face to face with the traveling labor force. He saw their sun-weathered faces. His jaw was victimized by a wave of shoulders passing by. Eventually his search ended when the crowd died and saw a clear-eyed girl unloading her luggage. She wore white leggings with a beige jacket. She fumbled with her luggage, struggling to pull it from the heap of other luggage. Naruto swooped in with his head low to avoid being spotted or noticed by her and proceeded to retrieve her luggage.

"Here you go ma'm." He said with his head now turned to her, putting down her luggage.

She stuttered at the approach of a friendly stranger. "T-Thank You." She said while bowing her head in respect. She looked up and saw the strangers face. She was surprised to see it was Naruto.

"Naruto? I...I...wasn't expecting anyone to.."

"I wanted to surprise you! Everyone has been dying to see you!"

Hinata blushed at the thought and imagining of everyone waiting for her in some dark room, waiting for her to enter and yell "**Surprise!"**. She knew that her friends always cared and tried to bring out Hinata out of her shell. She knew that she was gone for a bit and that things had changed. Naruto led her down the station which spilled into the Central Square of the village. The last she saw of these buildings, was that they had just received a fresh coat of paint, in preparation for the grand re-opening of the Central Square.

"Wow..how the city has changed." She said shyly.

Naruto noticed Hinata staring in awe, but reserved as well.

"So how was your stay with the Kazekage? After all I imagine being an intern isn't the best of jobs."

"I actually...enjoyed it. Lord Gaara is an honorable man."

"How long did you intern for him?"

"Next month, would have been a year."

"Oh." Noticing the looming silence approaching, Naruto switched the subject.

"So have you kept in touch with anyone here while you were away?" He regretted asking this because it reminded him of his lack of effort of trying to connect or reach out to Hinata.

Her head lifted with a shrill smile. "Yes actually, Sakura and Ino always gave me a call to see how I was every now and then."

Naruto wanted to cut the small talk and get personal with Hinata. He wanted to ask her everything, if she found someone, if she missed him, if she still cared for him. He chose to stick to his plan. It would all be revealed soon at the party. He continued walking with her, leading her to her house.

"Well thank you for walking with me." She blushed and was about to enter.

"Well for starters, your welcome, and well we kinda are going out tonight, you know the whole gang, and we want you to come."

"Umm...-taps fingers- I don't know. I wasn't formally invited and."

"C'mon! It will be fun! I promise."

"-still tapping fingers- Are you sure?"

"A thousand percent! Believe it!"

His emphatic response made Hinata giggle and finally accept his offer, of a fun night on the town. She let him inside her house to sit down while she changed. It took approximately thirty minutes for her to get dressed. She came out in a blue jacket and dark skinny's jeans. Her haired was tied in a bun. She typically wore clothes to hide herself, but not tonight, at least not fully, as her jacket wasn't buttoned up.

"Wow. You look nice. You ready?"

"Yes. Lead the way. Just let me close the backgate."

Naruto and Hinata left her house, heading towards the party. Naruto had already texted Sakura for an update on if everyone had shown. They did. They arrived outside Club Yotto. Before Naruto opened the door he whispered "Hope you like it."

Hinata didn't have time to process this statement and she was immediately met with face to face with her friends, who yelled 'Surprise!' at the sight of her.

Hinata didn't say anything. She was happy and confused. She didn't understand what was he surprise for.

"Thank you guys, but it's not my birthday." She said while hugging her friends.

"We know, it's for you being back in Konoha." Said Sakura as she released her hug.

Hinata soon made her rounds around greeting all of her friends.

"Well let's do this!" A buzzed Sauske said. Sauske never could hold his liquor.

The group of friends began to rush onto the dance floor. Naruto was the center of the party, as every girl wanted to dance with him. Sauske was in a game of shots with Rock Lee. Choji was chatting up the club. Shikamaru was sitting on a odd shaped piece of furniture.

Shikamaru looked towards the dance floor. The music was blaring and robotic. The club was filled with smog, and it was warm as the many crowded people gave off body heat. He saw Ino dancing and enjoying herself. He told her before they arrived at the club that he wasn't a good dancer, and that he wasn't going to dance but said that shouldn't stop her from dancing and enjoying herself. He was beginning to regret it, as he saw every man trying to dance, or what was now considered 'dancing' which was mostly dry humping. Luckily for the men in the club, Naruto kept an eye on Ino and pulled her away from any creeps or strangers. She had rotated dance partners throughout the night, from Kiba to Choji to Naruto and even Sauske, when he wasn't completely wasted. He saw Kiba 'dancing' with Ino. He saw Kiba looking at the 'fruit of her loom' when she turned around and spun. Again he wasn't mad, but jealous. Ino was his girlfriend, and he should be the only one allowed to look at her like that. He quickly devised a scheme of how to get Kiba away without starting a scene. He first grabbed the remaining shot glasses, that the passed out Sauske didn't finish. Then he bribed a bargirl to spill it over Ino. When that happend, she shrieked and ran away from the dance floor, only to be dried off by a mess of cocktail napkins. Shikamaru then approached Ino.

"What happend? Why did you stop dancing?" He asked trying his hardest not to smirk.

"Because I'm all sticky now and smell like booze, thanks to some careless bargirl." Ino replied while rubbing cocktail napkins over her arms.

"Well would you dance again if you danced with me?"

She stopped with the flimsy napkins and grabbed her boyfriend by the arm, and with a smile said.

"Lets go!"

They both arrived to the center of the dance floor where Shikamaru began to 'dance' with Ino. Shikamaru was starting to enjoy 'dancing', for the only move he had to learn was to move up and down. Eventually Shikamaru and Ino would begin real dancing, as she taught him some simple moves. Being a genius that he is, he picked up the steps fairly quickly.

The song ended and Ino wrapped her arms around Shikamaru.

"When did you want to actually dance?" She looked at him with gazing eyes.

"Well I would have done it earlier, but I didn't want my girlfriend smelling like every guy's sweat." He said winking at her.

She immediately realized what he had done, but she didn't care. She actually liked the fact that he was showing to others that Ino was his.

She didn't say a word but her lips certainly did, as she pulled him in for a deep and long kiss that soon turned into a full-on makeout session.

The gang continued to party into the early morning, until the party ended. The friend's said their goodbye's and each walked their own path. Shikamaru was walking Ino home, Sakura was carrying a passed out Sauske over her shoulders, and Naruto insisted on walking Hinata home, even though he wasn't fairing much better than Sauske. A drunk Naruto had asked if Hinata had enjoyed the party and she said yes. When, Naruto was drunk he became a philosopher and pondered about his life.

"Wha-at if I never find anybody?"

"You will. You just need to figure out where to look." Replied Hinata.

"But what if nobody wants to date me or my nine tails?" Naruto spun around trying to see if his nine tailed spirit had come out. "I don't see it? Do you see it?

She giggled. "Nope, not a single tail. You'll figure it out though. You're Naruto!"

"I messed up so many times you know that!?" Naruto's inside voice was also gone when alcohol came into play.

Hinata just gave him a strange look, as they continued walking.

"I..i'm serious! I liked Sakura for so long and she didn't like me back. She was nowhere near perfect. You know I bet you that hair she has isn't even real! You...you -gets up close to her- I should have loved Hinata! She was always so nice and caring, and I threw it aside. Too bad she really is pretty, you know?"

Hinata became aware that Naruto was in his own state of mind, and let him finish talking to himself.

"No..Sauske you shut it!"

Hinata had arrived at her home. She saw that it must have been around three in the morning, due to the sky not changing colors yet. She was going to thank Naruto for walking her home but he was still in his own state of mind. She left him outside, hoping that he would eventually snap back to reality and head home. When he didn't, she didn't mind.

"Sauske shut...up! I'm in love with Hinata and you're not going to to take her! I'm sorry bro, I didn't mean to yell, let's hug it out."

She listened to the drunken argument he was having with himself, while standing from her second story balcony. She didn't mind at all. The next morning she awoke from her slumber and checked her mailbox. _"Wow! It's beautiful!" _She said while rotating the black snowglobe of Konoha. With every rotation in the sun, it became clearer to her. This was where she belonged.

**A/N: Hope you guys liked the chapter! There will be drama coming into the story soon. I promise! I will probably only update once a week now, due to school starting on Monday. Nevertheless, I am excited for Senior Year and look forward to keep on writing this story for you guys, the fans. Remember to read and leave a review. Don't be shy! Btw i'm looking to change the story bio, any ideas? And remember always ship ShikaIno!**


	10. Chapter 10

August passed and September rolled in. Birds took conrtol of the sky, the beach became deserted, and planning for the Dusk Festival had gone underway.

"Do you think our younger shinobi would enjoy it?" Asked Kakasi, as he rested he's legs atop his desk, switching his focus between Shizune and a picture of geese.

"Of course! A petting zoo is a great attraction for everyone of all ages." Shizune said while sitting on top of his desk. She leaned in closer and smushed his cheeks, causing his lips to pucker. "Tell me again why you don't like petting zoo's?" She asked before stealing a kiss from him.

"It's not that I don't like petting zoo's, it's that I just don't trust geese. They are evil creatures." He replied, with a stern face.

"Why? What have they ever done to you?"

"Ummm.." He rubbed the back of his head and gave a light chuckle. His cheeks wore a crest of crimson. He remembered all the times in his life, in which he was attacked by geese. Relieving moments from when he was little, to just last week where a pack of geese tried to maul Kakashi because he had a bento box. "It's just best if we don't get them."

A knock came from the door. Kakashi motioned to Shizune to allow the guests to enter. Shizune opened the door, and Naruto came bursting in.

Naruto immediately plopped down a stack of papers on Kakashi's desk. "These came for you today. They need to be signed by next week."

"And with that key word I'm gone!" Said Kakashi. Silently hoping for his blonde apprentice to say the words, "next week."

"But Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto whined as he saw Kakashi grabbing and putting on his Jonin vest.

"Now..no 'but's', Naruto. We both know how busy of a man I am, am I right?" He said jokingly, while reaching out his hand for Shizune, she obliged and the two vanished from the office.

Naruto sat down on his desk and began to scan the paperwork. He noticed how all the paperwork dealt with the Dusk Festival, scanning through it, he chuckled when he saw the request for geese had been pending approval. Naruto then spun his chair around to see all of Konoha from above. He sat and pondered, thinking about his friends. He realized it was a Friday afternoon, he wondered if his friends had any plans for tonight.

Choji sat next to Shikamaru with a smile on his face. He saw his lazy friend doze into and out of consciousness. He sat there thinking about how much everything had changed. He thought about the cold, bitterness, Asuma had left in their hearts when he passed, now changed into light and hope. Granted, the Great War ending certainly played a major role, in changing everyone's aura, but he couldn't help but feel that something else at large here was at least partially responsible for the change. He figured it to be just that time of year, Autumn brought in new winds and rid the earth of it's struggles, much like what was happening with his friends. Last month, Shikamaru was just another Jonin teaching at the academy, now..at least he had Ino to help bring out the best of him, on most days, and he also knew deep down that Shikamaru was absolutely nuts about this girl, so that made Choji happy. Choji peacefully sat on top of the hill, for hours. Eventually when the night sky, had decided to spill it's dark blue color, on the canvas of the sky, Shikamaru woke up from his afternoon nap. He awoke to the sounds of crickets and of wind rustling through leaves.

Shikamaru stretched his arms before asking his best friend, "Why didn't you wake me up? Have you seen the sky?" He asked.

"You looked peaceful, something you haven't looked like in awhile." Choji said while pulling out a bag of chips.

Shikamaru couldn't complain there. Why would he want to complain? After all, _a_ _peaceful_ _nap_ _is_ _a_ _great_ _nap_, Shikamaru looked down at his village, noticing children still playing on the streets.

"Remember when we were like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like those kids there, do you remember?"

"Of course I do! Those were the best days, playing Ninja, marbles, cards, you name it."

"Where did the time go?" He chuckled to himself.

"Yeah.." They both sat there admiring the darkening sky. "Hey Shikamaru..how's your mother?"

"She's doing better, she's really calmed down a lot. I think I'm going to try to get her a therapist."

Choji's eyes shot up. "Why? I thought you said she doing better?" He looked at his friend with concern.

"She is, it's just that..." Shikamaru looked at Choji. "Well she's not fully over...you know, my dad." He said dryly. His voice didn't crack or change, all his tears and sadness was washed away awhile ago in his tears.

Choji just looked at his friend, he knew not to press for any more questions, for he didn't want to bother him or make him relive that fateful day once again. A silence took over, Shikamaru stood up and asked if his friend wanted barbeque. Choji accepted and off they went.

They made pleasant conversation on their way to the restaurant, until they were stopped by a familiar face.

"Hey Cho! Shikamaru!"

They turned around to see their friend, Sauske, approaching them. He was walking in a strange costume that resembled a lizard.

"Nice costume." Choji said strangely, looking and still unable to make out what Sauske was wearing.

"Thanks." He noticed their confusion, "It's a sneaky lizard."

"Whaa?" Said a puzzled Shikamaru.

"Yeah, apparently it's a character in one of these new children's movies."

"What makes it so sneaky?"

"Look at his eyes! There are half closed." He said with pride.

Noticing the pride behind his statement, Shikamaru asked.

"So I can see you're taking a liking to your new job, good for you."

Sauske tried to hide his love for his job with a casual, "ehh..pays the bills, can't complain. Anyways what are you guys doing?"

Choji cut in excitingly."We're actually about to grab some barbeque!" Just thinking about food made him happy

Sauske looked around before finally asking, "Mind if I join?"

Shikamaru and Choji gave eachother a look. Choji smiled and Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders.

"Great! I got nothing to do tonight." Sauske said from behind as they began walking.

When they arrived at the barbeque restaurant they couldn't be seated due to the large amount of customers. They were given an electric pager, and waited outside.

Although Autumn had just started in Konoha, it felt like the middle of October, with it's winds it was sending from the mountains. Choji shivered a little as another strong breeze came in. Sauske didn't understand why Shikamaru didn't like to wait indoors, but didn't say anything. He sat next to the bench Shikamaru was sitting and let out a sigh.

"Are you going to the Dusk festival?" He asked, trying to spark light conversation while waiting for the pager to go off.

Shikamaru turned his head away from the sky and towards Sauske. "I think so. Remind me, what weekend is it coming"

"11th through the 14th"

"That's right! Great, another day where I don't need to teach." He said laughing to himself.

"So are you going to go?"

"I imagine, I mean Ino would probably want to, and carnivals are always fun." He said with a faint grin. "Are you going to take anyone?"

His question froze him. He didn't know how to respond. It wasn't that he didn't like anyone, its just well...he wasn't expecting it to be Sakura. He still was in a state of bewilderment, asking himself if he really did like Sakura, or if that was his pants talking. "Not planning on it, but you never know." He said shrugging his shoulders and continued, "You know...there is someone I have in mind."

Shikamaru just looked at his friend. Shikamaru really didn't care much about the romantic lives of others, unless Choji came to him with a problem. He really found it annoying to be keeping tabs on whose going for who. His girlfriend was into that, not him, but he did put on a friendly face.

"You think Sakura..would want to go with me?" He asked, staring at the ground, hoping to get an answer from either him or it.

Shikamaru folded his arms. "Look I really don't like to get into the lives of others,"

Sauske turned and his face unconsciously grew a frown

"But..I think you should do it."

Sauske's face lit up with excitement. "Really?"

"Well, what do you want me to say? No, don't ask her out!? Don't try to find out if she still likes you!?" He laughed. "I mean, you really aren't giving me any options here."

"I guess your right." Sauske said with a grin. Still though, Shikamaru's words lingerd in his brian. _"I think you should do it." _He even said it to himself.

"Did you say something?" Choji asked as he heard a sound from Sauske.

"No..just cursing this damn wind." He was pondering the idea in his head, still.

The electronic pager rang, signaling that an open table was available.

Sauske stood up and began walking towards the front door of the restaurant, only to be stopped by a hand to the chest.

Sauske was in disbelief as to why Shikamaru's hand was stopping him. Did he not want to eat dinner with him? Shikamaru gave Sauske a stare that was trying to tell him something. Sauske didn't receive it, so Shikamaru just blurted it out.

"Ask her. Go on, do it! Tell Ino to put the flowers on my tab."

Sauske was a little surprised at his response. Usually he just went wherever the wind was blowing, but here he was stopping him.

"Go, I'm not taking no for an answer. GO." He said with a straight face.

Sauske retreated one step at a time, until fully turning away and walking to the other side of town.

"That was a good thing you did there, Shika." Choji said while putting an arm on him.

Shikamaru clicked his toungue, "Someone had to tell him, and besides I saw the look in his eyes."

"The look of love?"

"No! The look of being a freeloader. I wasn't going to pay for him." He said laughing to himself, while watching Sauske fade into the distance.

Sauske walked across town to Yamanaka Flowers and purchased a bouquet, much to Ino's surprise. She tried to pry out information from him, on who was the bouquet for, after all she wasn't the "Gossip Queen of Konoha" for no reason. Sauske managed to escape from Ino and her noseyness. He walked to Sakura's apartment, who he found out what room she lived in, just a few days ago. Her apartment was a green, worn building. The landowners tried to repaint the building many times, but never finished, making it look a number of differnt hues of green. The apartment reeked of garbage, as today was garbage day. Sakura's neighbors put out their garbage on the hallways, in hopes of it being picked up and disposed. He decided to use the stairs instead of the elevator, because he wanted his body and brain to keep moving. He eventually made it to her room, room 268. He decided that he was going to go the direct way in asking her. He had talked himself up the courage to knock on her door. When he knocked, all the courage he built up, washed away instantly. He heard noises coming from the apartment, with each noise becoming louder, he readied the flowers almost as if it were a weapon. Sakura opened the door, only to be greeted with a petunia in her nose. She pushed past the flowers and saw a smiling Sauske. She smiled and invited him in.

(Thursday night. September 11)

The fast pace of the village came to a standstill come Thursday night. All classes of Konoha came to celebrate four nights of food and entertainment. The Dusk Festival was the second biggest festival, behind the Moonlight Festival in early December. It was a street fair that spilled out into the training grounds that were transformed overnight to accommodate the many rides and stalls that came.

"Let's go Shikamaru!" Ino nagged while pulling his arm. "The Kodo drummers are starting soon and I want to get good seats!"

"In a minute, I promise." He said while staring at old and used armor, used in the Third Shinobi War. Shikamaru really enjoyed when the festivals came into town, for he liked to read the plaques and learn from the exhibits they set up.

"Look at this one Ino!" Shikamaru said as he was once again distracted by another artifact. This one was a Katana.

Ino let out a sigh. "I just had to date the one who was a genius."

Eventually Ino managed to pry Shikamaru away from all the exhibits, and onwards they began walking towards one of the outdoor theaters that had been set up. They were in luck, as they found a few seats still open within close proximity of the stage. They took a seat. The show was still minutes away from starting. Shikamaru began to look around the crowded theater in hopes of spotting a friendly face. He scanned all around the theater and found no one. He scanned a second time and was about to end his search when he saw Sakura's pink hair stand out. He began to yell. "Sakura!...Sakura!"

Sakura was sitting atop on the bleachers, gazing at the empty stage in anticipation of the show. She began searching the crowd when Ino had joined Shikamaru in trying to call her.

"Billboard!"

"Sakura!" They were both waving their hands.

Sakura soom located her friends, and waved cheerfully at them.

"Sakura seems awfully lonely up there." Shikamru said to Ino, who was still waving and sending messages at her through her hands.

"If you want we can switch seats. Sakura can take mine, so she doesn't need to be alone, and I can sit back there. I'm not really into this type of thing, it's a drag."

"Oh my Kami..." Ino said with a fixed stare at Sakura's direction

"What happend?"

"Sakura's not alone...she's with Sauske! That's who he got the flowers for! Aww."

Shikamaru turned his head around to see if it was true. He saw the Uchiha make his way across the row, and sit down next to Sakura. He had two sticks in his hands, they appeared to be Yakitori, and gave one of them to Sakura. Sauske soon realized that Ino and Shikamaru were watching them, and waved happily.

"Would you look at that?" Shikamaru said as he gave a quick wave to Sauske.

"Do you think they're going out?" Asked Ino.

"Beats me." They finally turned back to watch the show, as it was about to begin.

Ino grabbed Shikamaru's hand in excitement as the drumers raced on stage.

_"I wonder if Naruto is here with Hinata?" _Shikamaru asked himself as he was deftly watching the drummers.

"Here you go Miss. Enjoy your night." Naruto said, as he handed a lady her ticket.

Naruto had the worst of luck. After doing much of Kakashi's paperwork to bring the Dusk Festival and its performers back for another year, he was stuck working the ticket booth. He had plans this weekend, they included asking Hinata to accompany him to the festival, not all nights, but all Naruto needed was one. He was forced to wear a fake smile, as he handed out tickets.

Naruto wasn't really mad, he was just a little down. He knew that past those gates behind him, stood all of his friends, who we're probably having a blast. He printed ticket after ticket, until he ran into Kiba.

"Heeey! Naruto! Looka like they got you locked up tonight."

"Yeah, not just tonight. The whole weekend."

"Wow that blows." Kiba said as he was opening his wallet, pulling out Ryo and handing it to Naruto.

"That's alot of Ryo. A ticket doesn't cost this much."

"Oh I know. Hinata is with me."

Kiba moved away to show Hinata off.

Naruto's eyes met with Hinata's as she tried to stay away from his piercing eyes, behind Kiba.

"Sorry. You know how Hinata is always so shy."

"Yeah." He let out a fake chuckle with a smile as well.

He printed out the two tickets, and off they went. Hinata stayed behind just for a split second to wave goodbye by herself. Naruto had a small grin and nodded.

"Next in line." Naruto said robotically. He felt like he had not eaten for hours. For the rest of that night he would go on to fumble tickets and seem disinterested.

Ino and Shikamaru were on the ferris wheel. They watched the fireworks light up the night sky.

"What a perfect night." Shikamaru said while placing his hand over Ino's.

"I could only think of one thing that would make this better." She replied

Shikamaru turned around and was about to respond but his lips were suddenly met with Ino's.

After about three seconds Ino pulled away. "Now it's perfect."

"Really? Because what I had in mind was seeing the Shinobi artifact exhibit again." He said laughing.

"You idiot!" She punched him in the gut.

"Troublesome." He said while trying to rub his belly._"But worth every troublesome day." _He thought silently.

**A/N: Interesting week in Shikaino. Some fan tried to start a shipping war between ShikaIno and ShikaTema. Anyways, just started senior year and I love it! Love all my readers and fellow Shikaino shippers! Special thanks to sumtyms! Please read and review! Next chapter...IT BEGINS.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

It was the 22nd of September. Shikamaru awoke to the sounds of something rustling around his house. Shikamaru awoke to this noise. He opened one of his eyes, his face was still buried in his pillow. He continued to hear rustling. Shikamaru knew it was coming from the kitchen, with that he awoke and walked towards the found his friend Chouji, with his backside facing him. He was raiding the mini-fridge.

"And what exactly are you doing?"

"Shikamaru! Crap! I hoped you would still be asleep."

"If you're really that hungry Cho...you could have just asked." Giving his friend a reassuring smile.

Chouji didn't answer and turned his attention back towards the just shrugged his shoulders and went to the bathroom to do the morning ritual of shit, shave, and shower. He came back into the kitchen with only his towel on, surprised at the smell of fresh food.

"You got some groceries?"

"Just a few." Chouji said as he was cutting up something. Shikamaru couldn't see what it was though, but figured it was to be added to the eggs he was making. After a few minutes of cooking, Chouji turned around and handed his friend a plate. The food on the plate was arranged to form a smile.

"Happy Birthday." He said with a warm smile.

Shikamaru stared at the plate and gave a smile back to his friend. He wouldn't show it, but Chouji knew Shikamaru was thankful.

"Thanks, Cho." He said before diving in. He quickly devoured the food, he only had a a homemade meal once in a while, due to laziness.

"For a second there you had me worried." Said Shikamaru as he was eating the last few remains from his plate.

"I always remember your birthday!" Chouji said in defense.

"I know. I know. I'm just saying usually, you make a big show of it. Thats all." He said , followed by a chuckle.

"Nope. Nope. Ino took on that responsibility this year." He said smiling.

Shikamaru wondered what Ino had planning before being interrupted by Chouji.

"She is having a big diner party for you. Everyone is invited!" Chouji said. He quickly noticed the smile that overtook his friend's face. Shikamaru's face hungered for more answers.

"Oh yeah I forgot. Be there at eight, and it's **semi** **formal**." Adding emphasis on the last part to make sure, that Shikamaru knew not to wear his Jonin vest.

Shikamaru recorded the details in his brain, and off he went. He began to walk towards the academy with a hangar on holding his clothes for tonight. Once at the academy he was a little surprised to see his students rush up to him and hug him, once he entered the classroom.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Shikamaru-Sensei! "

"Happy birthday!"

Those were the only two phrases he heard when he entered. He looked around and asked "How did you guys know today was my birthday?"

"The board! The board! Look at it Shikamaru-Sensei!" The kids screamed and giggled in unison.

Shikamaru turned around to see the board. He blushed at what was on it. "_Happy Birthday!0 Love, Ino. XOXOXO." _ It was written in purple and green marker. He was embarrassed but touched. "That girl..she's something special." He said looking at the board. He didn't want to erase it however, he secretly liked the fact that his girlfriend sneaked in just to write this embarrassing message. He turned around to face the class and to begin today's lesson. He was about to start speaking and presenting what was _Genjutsu, _when a hand shot up.

"Yes, Ayame?"

Ayame was a raven haired student in his class. She was actually his best student.

"Who is Ino?"

Shikamaru was a little embarrassed at her question. He was expecting a question about the history of a clan or something. Not this.

"Umm..well..she is..my friend." Shikamaru said, hoping he chose the right words.

"Like your girlfriend?!" Yelled out another student.

"Oh my kami! Shikamaru-Sensei! Is Ino the blonde kunoichi."

"Well there's a lot of blonde kunoichi."

"You're not letting me finish! The kunoichi who works at the flower store...I think it's called Yamanaka Flowers?"

"Ino Yamanaka?! Shikamaru-Sensei nice job!" Yelled out one of the boys. Which was soon followed by them whooping and making other noises.

"How do you guys know her!?" Asked a disgruntled Shikamaru. He never liked anyone making eyes at Ino or talking about her that way since they were both little.

Suddenly a group of people bursted through the door, with a birthday cake in hand and singing _"for he's a jolly good fellow."_ Shikamaru turned his attention to the left and saw Iruka, Yamato, and Kurenai with her 17 month old daughter, Susunu. He was taken back by this act of affection.

"Alright class, take the day off!" Shikamaru said triumphantly, as motioned for them to shoo. The kids ran off screaming into Konoha, tripping over themselves.

"You guys really shouldn't have." He said before he sliced Kurenai a slice. It was already six in the afternoon. Iruka and Yamato left after awhile of chatting and well wishing. It was just him and Kurenai, and Susunu. He took a seat next to her, and with a blush said "I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit the last few weeks. I've been busy but that's no excuse." He said with remorse and putting his head down. Kurenai noticed this, and told him to sit up straight and not to fear, for she always kept a tab on Shikamaru, and knew exactly how busy his life was.

"So I heard that a certain troublesome woman has stolen your heart, no?"

"So you heard correctly. I wouldn't say "steal", we've been only going out for a month and a half." He said as leaned back on his teachers chair. Kurenai noticed his non-chalant attitude and raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"We know you've liked her for awhile, Asuma and I."

Shikamaru's smile grew even larger. "Did everyone know!?" He laughed as he explained that Chouji and his mother said the same. He took a deep breath and said "To be completely honest, I am nuts about her. Nuts about how her eyes change color depending on where the light hits, nuts about how I tell her she might be bipolar because she could flip so quickly. Heck I haven't even gotten a good night's rest since I started dating her."

Kurenai grabbed Susunu and covered her ears. She thought he was going to talk about his wild sex adventures with Ino.

"Relax! Relax!" He said bursting into laughter. "I just turned 18, and she does tomorrow. We haven't.. you know." He said blushing and rubbing the back of his head.

Kurenai took a breath of relief. She didn't like to think how fast her students had and were growing up.

"What I meant to say was I haven't been able to sleep well lately because my life is a dream now." He paused. He carefully thought about his next statement. "I think..I might love her. Now before you correct me." He said with his arms creating an imaginary box, "I know Love is a big word and all, but I think I do. I've always wanted her ever since I was little. I just.., you know was afraid to admit I had feelings for one of my closest friends."

Kurenai looked deeply into Shikamaru's eyes, before grabbing Susunu who was tinkering around Shikamaru's desk. "Love is something you don't think, It's what you know. It's protecting her and trusting her unconditionally."

Shikamaru was taken a little back by her comments. Did she really think that Shikamaru had confused lust for love? Did she think he just went out with Ino to deflower her? He was lost in trying to find a response. An uncomfortable silence loomed over the room. "I'm sorry. What i'm trying to say is that be careful when the word 'love' gets thrown around." She cleared her throat trying to fight back something painful it seemed. "Remember what happend with Hinata?"

Shikamaru's brain reached into his memory bank and pulled out a thin roll of film, that was injected into the projector in his mind.

The lampposts had given the night sky a hue of orange. The streets were empty. The only noise that accompanied the crickets, were the beggars who usually huddled around a fire when it was night. Naruto was sitting on one bench and Hinata on the other. Hinata was paralyzed with the words he just spoke to her. "I love you. Hinata, I love you." The film began to blur as Shikamaru was not there to actually see it and had to reconstruct the scene using the snippets of information he heard. Hinata smiled back at Naruto, and the film had burned out. His mind was immediately met with an image of Sakura's face sobbing as she had described that Hinata was rushed to the hospital for a suicide attempt. She choked and lead out detail after horrifying detail. The bathtub, the pills, the note. Shikamaru grimaced at the sight of this once again. He had understood what Kurenai had told him, but still.

"But just a few weeks ago, he threw a party for her. He walked her home, and was determined to win her heart back."

"Yes and not so long after that she went to the Dusk Festival, with Kiba instead of Naruto, because I told her to."

Shikamaru understood why she lead Hinata towards Kiba, and not Naruto, but he hated to assume.

"Why?"

"Because it's not healthy for her. For him."

"For him?"

"Yes for him. You haven't noticed? Throwing a party for one girl, who happend to be Hinata? He feels guilty. He knows how badly he messed her up." She took a deep breath, contemplating whether to trust him or not. "She wasn't in Suna or working for the Kazekage.." she began to tear up, her eyelids became puffy, but she continued. "Her parents sent her to the Land of Water to a rehabilitation center for suicidal kunoichi. Stays there are mandatory for at least six months."

Shikamaru's whole world was flipped upside down. His eyes widened, and he was visibly shook by this. He had thought, just like the others, that she interned for Lord Gaara, the Kazekage. _"Eleven_ _months"_ he thought._"It took her eleven months to recover." _His head was in full gear, as he began to notice the signs. How she just randomly got an internship, how she just vanished without saying goodbye to anyone, why her apartment still was upkept while she was gone. He was speechless. He took a look at Kurenai. She was in tears, just talking about it made her emotional.

She looked at Shikamaru, and said with her head lowered facing the ground. "I trust...you to keep this confidential."

Shikamaru just nodded his head. What else could he do? He was still in a state of disbelief and numbly nodded. Kurenai sensed that Shikamaru was shocked, and hoped this lesson stuck with him. She was just trying to protect all of her loved ones. She picked up Susunu and stood up, saying goodbye she kissed Shikamaru on the forehead. She was at the door, when he finally turned around to face her. "If you want..you are invited tonight to my birthday dinner."

She looked back just as she opened the door, "Thank you, but I have plans of my own tonight." She said with a smile as she waved, while grabbing Susunu's arm an waving with it as well. The door closed, leaving Shikamaru all by himself. He stared at the clock, and began to grade papers, he turned around at the clock, seeing it was time to get dressed. He let out a sigh, he was still disturbed by the information he had just learned. He went to the faculty bathroom and changed into a white dress shirt and a black tie, with some black dress pants. Chouji always had a sense of subtle style. He went off walking towards the fanciest restaurant in all of Konoha, Okozi Habachi.

Shikamaru opened the door and was met with a wave of hugs, handshakes, and kisses. He admired the restaurant for it's tranquility. It's dining area was actually a large accumulation of thick bamboo stalks, that were tied together to create a large floating dining area that supported tables and chairs. It floated upon a pond. The walls were made out of rock which moss grew upon.

"Fan-cy!" Exclaimed Naruto, as he unwrapped his dinner cloth.

"I agree!" Said Chouji as his mouth began to drool, reading the menu.

"Well...everything else is nice, but not the price." Shikamaru grumbled.

"It's ok Shikamaru! We're all paying for ourselves...except for you." Sauske added.

"That's right! Remember it's my birthday tomorrow too." Ino said while pulling in Shikamaru for a quick peck.

All the friends ate and laughed the night away. They had spent three hours at the restaurant, enjoying each others presence. They shared memories and Sai had done impersonations of everyone with their flaws. Shikamaru looked around the table, he saw all his closest friends with him. Chouji, Naruto, Sauske, Sakura, and Sai. He looked to the other side and saw his arm wrapped around his beautiful girlfriend. Life couldn't be any better. There was one thing missing however, his mother. He looked at Ino and asked her. She replied saying she didn't answer the phone, and didn't come at the door. He nodded and whisperd in her ear that they'll stop by after dinner. Shikamaru had took a glass and rose it, calling the empty restaurant's attention to him. The table looked at him and rose their glasses. Shikamaru began.

"I'm not the best when it comes to my feelings so I'm going to make this short and sweet. Ino..we've known each other since we were little."

Ino began to blush and Sakura teased her.

"You've always been a flawless rose in my eyes, and I only hope this dollarweed doesn't burden you or stop you from fully blossoming." He finished. Ino was seriously blushing now. She was touched and stood to whisper in his ear "I wouldn't trade this dollarweed for a million cosmos." She leaned to kiss him and gave him a deep kiss.

The table erupted in applause when they kissed, and so did some of the staff that was cleaning the other tables.

"Oh before I forget! Ino I have something to give you!" He motioned for Ino to pause while he reached into his back pocket. He revealed a tiny box wrapped poorly in red wrapping paper. "Go ahead open it." He motioned. She quickly unwrapped the paper and saw a small jewelry box. She looked at her boyfriend who could only smile in return. She opened the box which held a necklace that had the Yamanaka's family seal engraved on a silver medallion. Her eyes began to water as she hugged Shikamaru. "Shika, its beautiful!" She said while wiping her nose. She pulled it of the box and turned around asking him to put it on her. He complied and helped her put it on. She looked beautiful in it and brought out the magic hidden in her eyes. She pulled away to grab a box from underneath the table. "Hope you like it." She said shyly, desperately hoping he did. He opened it to find a small bracelet with small silver deer antlers as charms. He tried it on, normally he didn't like jewelry, but since it was from Ino, he treasured it.

Soon afterwards the group dispersed, walking home. Shikamaru was with Ino and they were going to visit his mother. He noticed the lights were off, there had been actually no lights in this neighborhood section. Shikamaru found that odd, even the flashing man on the street signs wasn't blinking. He turned towards his blonde girlfriend, "That's strange. The power saving ordinance wasn't supposed to go into effect until November." Since it was late at night, and he didn't want to wake up his mother he used the spare key that laid underneath a small watering plant. He fumbled with the keys. The dark, misty sky clouded the stars. He eventually opened the door and told Ino to find the lightswitch. When she did, he cried and kneeled to the floor.

Shikamaru couldn't remember his mother's funeral. He couldn't remember the events of that evening. Couldn't remember the speech he gave to a misty eyed gathering. The only thing he remembered was the color brown, the color of the belt, he found tied to the ceiling. He vivdly remembered the shape of the spare key that night. It was a gold colored key, but the gold had chipped away by the time his father passed. He knew that because he spent lots of nights sneaking out when his father died. He snuck out to just walk around aimlessly around Konoha and to smoke. He used that key plenty of times to sneak back in and to put away his clothes that trapped the smell of smoke. He now held the key in his hands, studying it. He saw the ridges go up and down. He walked back into his apartment when Ino had called him in to eat. She had visited him every afternoon now for the past two weeks, after she finished at the store or her shift at the hospital. She had always brought home some food with her. It sometimes was from the hospital, other times she picked him up something.

"The Hospital made ramen today, here's some soy packets." She said with a smile that tried to peer into his soul and hold him.

"Thanks." He said with his head lowered, eating and slurping the ramen quietly.

He had been like this for the last two weeks. Barely saying a word, replying with grunts. He always stared at Ino, seeming like he had a question that needed to come out.

"How was your day?" Ino asked, while putting down her chopsticks.

Shikamaru hadn't said anything except raise his head and nod. He put on a smile as well.

Ino nodded. Her eyes began to water, quickly leaving the table before Shikamaru could notice, to wash her plate.

The clock struck seven P.M., Ino knew for the past two weeks that Shikamaru had requested her to leave at that time. She looked at the clock and let out a sigh. She walked over to him and planted a small kiss on his cheek, and whispered "Do you want to do anything tonight?"

He looked at her and held her hand and shook his head, "No."

Ino moved her long bang and said goodnight. She left through the front door. Once the door closed, Shikamaru moved to his bedroom, opened his drawer and pulled out an envelope. He read it night after night.

_I hope that this is the end_

_This family has had a disturbing trend_

_Of us dying too soon._

_Please Shika if you need me_

_Remember to always look at the moon._

_You we're such a good son and friend_

_I hope and pray that this will be the end _

_Of all my sufferings and silent cries_

_How much this weathered face has told you lies_

_I hope you become the man_

_I never saw you be._

_Worried to much about the clouds_

_And not enough about the tea._

_So I hope you see._

_My young fawn_

_I hope you find happiness_

_Beyond and beyond. _

_So please don't cry_

_Or whine or pout_

_If you do _

_My journey for you will come out._

_Please do not think you_

_Are injured my fawn_

_The darkest nights_

_Come before dawn._

Shikamaru teared up and placed the letter back into the envelope. He placed his hands over his face and cried. This was one of the few moments in his life where his brain could not perform at it's peak. He was at a loss. When the medical nin came to search the house for any indications of what might have led to that moment, they returned with his mother's drawings and scribbles of Shikaku. If only he would have known sooner, he could have helped her quicker, he thought. He lay sobbing at the thought that his mother didn't see him "become a man". He was a Jonin, and an instructor at the academy! How could his mother think that of him? He felt an ache in his stomach and rested his eyes. He would soon wake up to see he had napped for only an hour. Standing on the floor's balcony he went back to the poem. _"My_ _journey_ _for_ _you_ _will_ _come_ _out."_ He rememberd suddenly while looking down at the villagers still walking the streets. Was this journey, the journey to become a man? He didn't even know where to go or begin or anything, he wanted to leave however, he needed to do this for his mom to show that he did. He stood atop the balcony any in a blind rage tipped over the ashtray that held many cigarettes from those on that floor, and his own. Shikamaru couldn't handle this uncertainty in his mind! He ran through his apartment and closed the door, he was leaving Konoha, for good. He didn't pack anything for he felt like he didn't need to. He made no concessions, no calls, no letters. Just one stop, the train station.

"One ticket please to the Land of Waves." He said discreetly. Handing the person behind the glass a bag full of Ryo.

"The train departs at 11:30 tonight." The attendant said handing him his ticket.

Shikamaru took the ticket and nodded in appreciation. He had about three hours before his train came. He didn't want to see anyone, he wanted to be alone. Thoughts of Ino rushed through his mind however. He felt guilty. She had trusted him fully. He knew come tomorrow morning she would go to work, by the afternoon she would clock out and bring him something. He knew that she would knock on the door, use the emergency key he showed her, hidden under a piece of broken floorboard and walk in. He knows she would see an empty room and run outside, asking everyone if they had seen him, they would say no, and she would begin to panic. Shikamaru didn't want to do that to Ino. He looked at the stars and smiled, reminding him of her. The Nara walked out of the station and on his way to Yamanaka flowers. He walked and walked, each step a little longer than the last, until he made it. The store was pitch black, but atop he saw the lights were on from her and her mother's apartment. Shikamaru went through the back entrance and climbed up the narrow stairs. He made a quick knock, almost as if hoping Ino wasn't there. He heard no noises, and was contemplating about knocking again, until the door suddenly opened. A breath of cool air hit his body.

"Shikamaru!?" Ino said with a smile that quickly faded away. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you. C'mon put on a jacket, let's go." He said without a trace of emotion.

Ino was taken a bit back by his dry answer, but she obliged anyway. She nodded and ran back quickly putting on a jacket with a hoodie. She wore black boots, with black pants as well. Her bang was presently covering her eye and she put the hoodie over her head. "Let's go."

They left her building and walked. He didn't know where to go, he stopped and asked her where she wanted to go.

"Why not the park? Some flowers bloom at this time and their aromas are simply intoxicating!" She said excitingly. Her smile once again shrunk, once she saw her boyfriend's face. He was acting icy tonight, as if he had something to say, she didn't want to pressure him or ask him, they hadn't done anything together outside his apartment in two weeks. They arrived at the empty park. It was only illuminated by the lamp posts and buildings around it. They walked around the trail. Ino tried to snuggle under Shikamaru's arms, only to be rejected.

"Is something wrong?"

Shikamaru turned around and looked at her. He had to do it sooner rather than later.

"Maybe." He said with his head lowered and quickly looking off into the distance. "I don't know how to say this...and don't think this is a break-up."

"Okay?" She walked over to him. Hand on hip.

"I...I got...I..I...I..got to go, as in get out of here."

"I'm not fully understanding you." Ino said pushing her bang behind her ear.

"I need to leave Konoha."

"Why?! No you don't!"

"Ino..."

"No you.."

"INO!...

"..."

"Listen please? I need to. Konoha is not the place for me. Not now, and I don't know if ever again." He sighed. "You see...when my mom died."

Ino had begun to cry

Shikamaru removed one of her hands from her face. Pulling out his mother's letter from his pocket. "You see this! This letter!" He shoved it in her face. "This letter says my mom didn't see me become a man and wanted me to!" He began to tear up, just by saying that. "All that shit I did! Instructor, soldier, strategist! None of that was good for her! Understand!?" He looked at the sky and began. "YOU HEAR ME MOM!? I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY! I HOPE YOU'RE REALLY FUCKING HAPPY!" His voice was cracking, he stopped himself from sobbing. He pulled Ino back to him.

"Don't cry...shh...don't cry. Ino.." He pulled out to show her the ticket he purchased to the Land of Waves. "Ino look at me! I'm doing this for us! To be a man! To make my mother happy! I don't know why...but my mother wanted me to go on a journey."

Ino barely could mutter a word out with her crying. "You...c.c..a.a.n be a ...man...right..here...taking. ..care of me." She said looking at him in the eyes.

"I can't...I have to do this..I'm sorry."

"No...no! NOOO!..." She sobbed hysterically.

"Goodbye." He grabbed one of her hands and kissed it. He began to walk away.

She chased after him, trying to grab his ticket.

"Get off me woman!" He pushed her off of him and she fell on dirt that was recently wet. Her clothes were ruined.

He took a step to help her up and quickly stopped himself. He whispered "I'm sorry..I'm so..so...sorry." He took a last look at her and he ran off.

"Shika!..S-sshika-mmaaaaruuu!" Her crying only strengthened, as he was out of sight.

Sauske and Sakura were out having a "friendly meeting" as they liked to call it. They had grabbed dinner, and walked around Konoha. There minds were on eachother, but someone was afraid to make a move.

"Hey is that Ino and Shikamaru?" Pointed out Sakura as she she saw the couple enter the city park, across the street.

"Looks like it? You want to say something?"

"Better if I didn't. They need the alone time, ever since you know." Sakura's head lowered, rubbing her shoulder.

"Hey..c'mon it will be ok. Let's cross this street."

"I know..I'm just worried about Shikamaru, you know?" She said as they were crossing the street.

"I get you...listen Sakura."

"Yes?" They continued walking.

Sauske was nervous. This was his chance..."I was wond..."

A loud cry and yell was heard.

"What was that!?" Asked a concerned Sakura.

"I don't know..sounds like it came from the park." Said Sauske.

"Let's go! Hurry!"

The two ran into the park to investigate the source of the noise. It didn't take them too long to find a crying Ino, sitting in muck.

"Ino? Is that you?" Asked Sauske

"Ino! What happend?!" Asked Sakura.

Ino had only begun to cry harder.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Asked Sauske.

Ino looked at her friends. "Gone..he's gone." She said sobbing and putting her hands over her face.

**A/N: BOOM! What did you guys think? I told you this is when the drama starts! Big thanks to all my readers and my only reviewer. Big S/O to sumtyms! I would also like to applause the other ShikaIno authors this weeek, impressive stories! And of course a big thanks to my editor, this story wouldn't even be the story it is today. Thank you scarlet letters in the snow!**


	12. Chapter 12

He heard the hiss of the engine spewing its fumes into the dark sky. Looking through the window he saw the Konoha train station. The red brick pattern was eroded and weathered, graffiti was the true pattern of the wall. He saw light being reflected off puddles that laid around the ticket booth. "_Probably piss and rain water." _Shikamaru thought to himself. He sat staring at the last building of Konoha before the train began to chug slowly, picking up speed. The train entered a dark tunnel soon afterwards. A voice came on the speaker. "Thank you for choosing Ground Tairiku-kan no! We look forward to serving you! The estimated time of arrival to the Land of Waves is 5:57 A.M. The current time is 11:42. The carts will be passing soon. Our carts include blankets, snacks, and coffee, all for purchase of course!"

"_Of course it wouldn't be free. I knew I shouldn't have picked a seat in economy. What a drag." _Shikamaru took a deep sigh and looked back at the window, before being interrupted.

"Excuse me sir?"...

Shikamaru turned around to see a tall, portly man standing in front of him. His eyes looked at him with confusion.

The man continued, "Is this seat taken?" He said while pointing out to the seat that was directly in front of the Nara. The seats on the train were separated in groups of four, with two looking in front, and the other two seats looking back.

"Ummm...sure..go ahead, no one is sitting there."

The man simply nodded and sat down right in front of Shikamaru. He rested his briefcase on the seat next to him. He took a hard look to study the man and his features. He had a double chin, his cheeks were rosey, and his nose was blotchy. He had a blonde mustache accompanied by his blonde, graying hair, that was hidden by his beige buisness hat. His clothes spoke and screamed that he was a businessman, albeit not a successful one. They had yellow stains, the string holding one of the man's buttons, and his dress shirt was faded, an indication of being washed many times. He looked back to the buisnessman's face.

"Buisness?"

"Excuse me?" The man said lowering the newspaper he was reading.

"Do you own a buisness?"

The man laughed and said, "Yes and No."

"What do you mean?"

"Well what I.."

An attendant passed by offerings drinks and sleepware.

"Would you gentleman like anything?" She said politely.

The man said "I'm so broke, I couldn't pay attention." He finished laughing. "But actually i'll have a cup of water, if you don't mind?"

The attendant gave a fake laugh, and handed the man a cup of water.

"This is free right?" He said looking at her. Preparing to give it back if it wasn't.

"Yes it is." She said trying to remain polite. She turned around to Shikamaru and asked the same thing.

He was originally going to say 'no', but he didn't want to sleep. He had to figure out what to do once he arrived in the Land of Waves.

"I'll have a cofee. 3 cream and 3 sugar." He usually took his black, but decided a little change would be good.

The attendant rolled away and while stirring his coffee, he looked at the man. "Please, continue."

The portly man had a look of surprise on his face. He was the type of person to never have a person, let alone, a random stranger, to care for what he said.

"Well if you consider selling cologne out of your briefcase a buisness, than yes." He said chuckling. "I'll show you some samples, if you want?"

"Please do." He said while nodding.

The man reached out to grab his briefcase. It opened when he entered the right combination. "Take a look." He said while handing him the briefcase.

Shikamaru took the briefcase and looked at all the bottles. The bottles were of all different colors that attracted him, however the green bottle attracted him the most. He sprayed it on himself, liking the scent he wanted to purchase it."How much for this one?" He asked, showing off the bottle.

"That usually goes for five...fifty Ryo. I like you though, not many nice people left in this world, you know? I'll lower it to an even five hundred."

"Okay." He reached out to give him the Ryo.

The man reached out his hand once again, this time for a handshake. "My name's Taro." He said.

Shikamaru reached out to shake his hand and to introduce himself. The two began talking about an array of topics, but none of them diving or asking about their personal life or why they were headed to the Land of Waves, it seems as though they each were hiding something.

"And that's how I ended up being a cologne salesman." Taro said smiling. A silence loomed over he two. Taro looked back at Shikamaru. "You're from the leaf? Konoha, right?"

Shikamaru blinked in surprise."Howdidyouknowthat_?"._

"Well I mean I'm assuming you are, due to your insignia on your Jonin vest. So you're a shinobi?"

Shikamaru was surprised at this man's attention to detail. "Umm...yes. Yes I am."

"What brings you to the Land of Waves? Mission?"

"It's none of your buisness, I can ask the same, can't I?"

Taro took a deep sigh and broke eye contact away from Shikamaru. He wondered if he had accidentally hurt the buisnessman's feelings or touched a sensitive subject. Shikamaru took a look outside to see the trees, and if he were lucky, the clouds. He wasn't however, he looked at the train's clock, it read 3:24 A.M. He looked outside once again, seeing tall trees and wet grass. He saw the ground as it was encumbered with a thin misty fog. He heard a ruffling sound. He turned around to see what it was and saw Taro look into his briefcase, pulling out what seemed to be a photo. He looked at it. A tiny smile grew on his face, and his eyes became misty. He hugged the photo, holding it tightly against his chest. He suddenly turned the photo around to show it to Shikamaru. He quickly caught on to what he was looking at. The picture captured an image of a portly man, laughing with two children, both boys. "Those are my sons." He said with his voice cracking. "That's my youngest son Norito,.." Pointing at the young blonde haired child, who didn't appear a day over thirteen. "And that right here is my eldest son, Fumio."

Shikamaru nodded his head in silence. "I understand. Being a buisnessman must be tough on your family life."

Taro looked at the Jonin and smiled. "Yes, but I must do it. This will probably be my last visit, however."

His eyebrows rose to ask a question without speaking.

"Fumio, is sick. Cancer." He said lowering his head.

Shikamaru felt an empty pit in his stomach, he felt sorry for prying into this man's personal life, exposing and bringing up death and loss.

Taro continued "I lost Norito in the war last year, and now I can rest easy."

"Excuse me?" He said looking extremely puzzled.

"I was never a good father to my son's. They didn't have the privilege of having a real father. After the birth of Norito, I became obsessed with my work, smoking, drinking, fooling around. I never was a good father, and that's my biggest regret. When Norito died, I promised Fumio, that I will try to make it up to him, for all the time I lost." He stopped and sighed. "He closed the door in my face and told me to get lost, still I love him." He paused once again catching his breath. "When I found out he had cancer, I returned back to work, to support him financially. The doctors and I arranged a deal, where I would pay for his expenses, in return they told him the hospital covered the charges." He began to tear up, but stopped himself. "The doctors told me that he would receive the finest care in the Land of Waves, they lied. They lied and gave him treatments that made him week, so I guess I caused his death."

"You can't say that!" Lashed out Shikamaru, in an attempt to comfort the man.

Taro just rose his palm to Shikamaru's face, asking him to let him continue. He obeyed.

"That's why I'm working again. I must redeem myself somehow in the eyes of my son. I don't have much money, but at least his corpse will rest easy. I plan on paying for his funeral." He said while looking out at the window. Turning his head back at Shikamaru, almost looking into his soul. "And when he passes, and when I must carry the burden of burying another son, than shall my spirit pass without struggle from my body leading me back to my sons. If they would like to see me."

"What do you mean? "When your spirit passes?"

Taro lifted his head and removed his hat. He revealed to Shikamaru, a scar on the back of his head. "That's from my last operation to remove my tumor. Unfortunately it came back and became malignant. They gave me a year to live."

"Aren't you sad? Or a little scared?"

"No...my life is fated. This is my punishment I deserve, and I go without complaint." He said it so smoothly, almost as if death was his best friend.

Shikamaru sat there frozen. Here lied a man who was in a constant struggle in his life, and until the very end, is here trying to make peace. He didn't have an opinion, he was shocked. He was talking to a dead man, essentially. One who appeared as a commoner, but held so many broken bolts in his machine. He saw Taro look back at the photo and kiss it. "I love you, my boys." And carefully placed it back in his briefcase. The Sun began to spill past the tall trees and the misty fog. It was 5:10 A.M, and they had been talking for awhile.

Taro began "Once you lose something precious and dear, the Sun is always there to put things in perspective."

"I'm not really following you."

"Do you think the Sun wants to be the Sun? No! But it must, it's destined to! It realizes that it cannot break what it is. We however, are free to change and reinvent ourselves, thanks to the sacrifice of one."

Shikamaru immediately thought of his father, Shikaku, and also of Inoichi. He thought how those were real men, and how they gave their lives in order to protect their families. Tears slowly began to roll down Shikamaru's face. He already understood that they died to save them, but he never looked at it from that perspective. A silence loomed over the two once more, until Shikamaru snapped.

He reached into his jonin vest and pulled out his mother's letter, and released all that he had kept inside. He told the dying man about his father, his mother's suicide, his friends, Ino, and why he was on this train. His voice told of the tale of a lost and confused seventeen year old. Exposing his confusion and hurt at his mother. He put his hands over his face to muffle his sobs. He soon removed the hands from his face, exposing his teary eyes and his rosy cheeks. Taro didn't reply or give an answer, he simply looked at the window with a small grin.

The voice on the intercom came back. _"We are now entering the Land of Waves. Please clear your area of any belongings. We expect to arrive in seven minutes." _The voice finished talking, and the window gave away to the sea that was near the Land of Waves. If he tried hard enough, Shikamaru could make out a beach. He was astonished by how much the area has improved in just a few short years. The train soon thereafter slowed down into the train station. It was still empty, and from the looks of it, it was geared more towards tourists, as it had brochures showcasing the many hotels and beach resorts that had sprang up. He stood there overlooking the Land of Waves, as the train station was built on the highest point of the island. He stood looking down at the city. He felt a hand placed on his shoulder, and turned around quickly. It was Taro. He smiled at the man, and gave him a handshake. "Good luck." Shikamaru whispered in his ear.

Taro smiled and whispered "You still have time to fail a hundred times over, and live the life you do today." Shikamaru took a step back and looked at the man in hoping of trying to get an answer. The man wouldn't reveal what he meant by that statement, offering a silent challenge to the man who already was on a challenge that his mother gave him. Shikamaru began to walk down the steps that led him into the heart of the city. He looked back and waved at the man, he lifted his cap in return. That would be the last time he would see him. The sky still wasn't fully sunny, and still had some of the retreating reminants of last night. Last night still was painful for him to think about, making Ino cry, leaving the Leaf, abandoning his friends. "_They would probably be finding out in the next couple of hours, that is, if they didn't already know." _Thinking to himself, while walking to the nearest inn. Upon entering the nearest inn, he checked in and walked to his room. Closing the door, he laid down on his bed and began crying once again. _"How many times have I failed already?" _

**A/N: I'm so sorry for making this chapter sad also! I was shocked to find your guys reviews, saying that is was "heart wrenching." Next chapter should be happier...hopefully..maybe some singing? Anyways like I said, my story got banned from the T section, and now it's here! So hope you guys like it and big thanks to all my readers and reviewers! One more thing...I wanna extend my deepest condolences to everyone in the Philippines, as the nation, and especially Manila was flooded. God bless. Happy ShikaIno month.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or South Park.**

"Wake up!" Naruto yelled, Kicking his dark haired friend.

"Whaaaa?" A tired Sauske said, so exhausted he forgot to add the "T".

"Basketball! Everyone is going." The blonde said. Adding a kick to further wake him up.

Naruto was already dressed in his gear. An orange top with grey shorts, twirling a basketball at his fingertips. He had already eaten breakfast, and was ready to play. Sauske on the other hand was tired and groggy, he had a long night yesterday.

"What time did you arrive back to the apartment last night?" Asked a curious Naruto, wondering if he had gotten 'lucky' with Sakura last night. "Did you finally ask her out?"

Sauske rolled around in his bed to answer Naruto. His eyes were blood shot and filled with eye crust. He remembered everything that happend last night, the crying, taking Ino to a tea shop, listening to her sob and bawl for an hour. At first when he heard her say "He's gone.", he and Sakura, figured they had broken up. After all what else could "He's gone" mean? His mind presented a more detailed flashback.

It was late, very late. Sakura, Ino, and himself walked into a conveniance store, that was always open. He looked up at the ceiling of the store, and found a large circular mirror. It was reflecting them as a blurry image.

"You guys go on. I'll wait here." He said to them. Focusing more and more on the mirror. Sauske was strangely fascinated by the mirror, it had projected him as an white blob, with another black blob on his head. The closer he got to it, the more defined he became. He studied the features on his face, and stepped back. He tested this mirror a few more times, before stopping at his blurry image, once again. Looking at the projection, something was being brought out of him. _"Who am I?" _He thought to himself. He smiled and looked at his reflection. It was both a beautiful and a useless smile. Here he was wondering who was Sauske Uchiha, the man that deserted the Leaf? No, he was the man who would uphold his clan's legacy and honor. Taking one more glance at the mirror, he noticed that he was still appearing fuzzy, even when he got close. _"I guess even up close, our true selves aren't revealed."_ A sudden feeling of sadness had hit, and he finally stepped away from the mirror and proceeded to walk towards the register. Sauske turned around and saw Sakura, helping Ino clean her clothes and trying to remove any excess muck. A smile overtook his face, noticing the kindness of the pink haired girl. He noticed her features, and was left in awe. Not in lustful sense, but of one of surprise. She loved him, and he denied her. Now the opposite situation is playing out, and he hoped the latter part wouldn't repeat itself. Leaning back on the counter, he jumped in surprise, when he heard a sudden voice.

"Are you going to buy anything?" Said the cashier, who was a red haired man, skinny, and sported a pencil thin mustache.

Sauske was a little hesitant, upon seeing the man. "Uhhh..-snatches candy bar- here you go." Handing him Ryo. Grabbing his change, he turned around to still see the girls, looking around the store this time. In his mind he wondered just exactly what the hell had happend to Ino. Did Shikamaru push her to the ground? Did he use violence? Cheating? Again the pestering voice came again.

"Do you know those girls?" Said the cashier.

"What girls? There are plenty in the world." Sauske replied snobbishly.

"Those two chicks right there! They're hot!" He said while pointing down one of the aisles, where Ino and Sakura were.

"Piss off."

The conversation died, right then and there. The cashier grumbled something under his breath and went back to his job, since there was no one in line, he just counted the change. The Kunoichi's eventually made their way back to Sauske with a bag full of tissues and what appeared to be tampons. They placed their items on the counter to checkout.

Noticing Ino crying, the cashier said. "Boy problems?"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." Said Sakura.

"Hey...psst..are you single?" He said trying to get Ino's attention.

"Excuse you?" Sakura said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Pinkie! Does she have a name?" He cut Sakura off rudely.

Noticing the opportunity, she went around the cashier's desk to whisper it in his ear, when she got close, BAM! She kicked him hard in the genitals.

"That's her name." She replied innocently.

Wincing in pain, he gave them the change, and off they went.

"Are you going to take her home?" Sauske asked looking at Sakura.

"No. I want to hear what exactly happend tonight, between her and Shikamaru." She said glaring back at him.

"I-it's fine...guys...really." Ino said as she wiped away any stray tears. She had her head down, and her hoodie still covered most of her face.

"No Ino-Pig, I wouldn't be able to rest tonight, without knowing the reason on why you're like this. Come, lets go to the tea shop." She said moving her shoulders.

"They're still open? At this time?" Sauske added.

"Yes, it stays open, usually for the factory workers by the power plant that work during the night."

Sauske simply nodded his head. Off they went walking towards the very end of Market District. There laid a tiny, tea shop. If one were simply walking and strolling without a care in the world, than they would surely miss it. It looked more like an apartment or townhouse, squished between two oher larger stores. Much like Yamanaka Flowers, Sauske assumed that the store owners lived upstairs. They entered passed the red wooden door and sat themselves. Quickly a waiter came to take their orders. It was an old, plump lady, who appeared as the only one working in the shop at this hour. She stopped and asked what was everyone having.

"I'll have a Kocha." Said Sauske.

"And you two girls?"

"I'll have a Sencha, and she'll have a.." She looked at Ino, who had her head buried underneath her sweater.

"I guess she'll have a Genmaicha."

The old lady smiled, and took the orders, not without asking what was wrong with her blonde customer. "Why the glum face?"

Ino rose from her state and gave a half hearted smile, trying not to show any tears.

"I remember being around your age. All the boys were after me, and they all broke my heart. Boys come and go, and a girl like you? My child, you are beautiful. Those are wasted tears." The old lady said.

"Thank you." Ino said, while pushing her bang from her eye and removing her hoodie. She always loved compliments, no matter what state she was in.

The old lady walked away and moved towards the counter to begin brewing the tea. They heard all the sounds. The sounds of the pots and the pans clanking, the ripping of the tea leaves, the running of the water.

"So what exactly..happend? Asked Sakura

Ino took a deep breath and slowly tried to speak. She couldn't however and began bawling, once again. "I...I don't...I do...n't know...it hap..-deep swallow- pend so fast."

Sakura reached out to grab her hand and comfort her. Sauske just looked around. It's not that Sauske didn't care, it's just that, well...he figured at first it was just typical girl drama, and that they broke up.

"Ino..I need you to tell me what he said." Sakura added.

"O-k...-wipes nose- he sai...said...that he wa..was going to l-leave."

"Leave what? The relationship? Konoha?" Her eyes grew in anticipation.

"Konoha." Ino managed to blurt out.

Sauske's eyes grew now. He became worried. "As in leave do you mean.." He leaned in closer, so no one can hear him. "Desert?"

"I don't...k-know." Ino said as she began to lower her head to silence her tears.

He looked at Sakura with a stare of bewilderment. Shikamaru? Deserting? The same strategist and sensei who had the will of fire in him? _"Surely_ _this_ _was_ _a_ _misunderstanding_._"_ He thought. "Did he-Oh thank you." He said, as the tea had been finished.

"Thank you." Both the girls said, while giving quick bows.

"Did he say where he might be going?" He asked, stirring his tea.

Ino couldn't bear to talk any more, and burried her head, sobbing. She wrote the rest of her responses on a napkin.

"It says here the Land of Waves. Isn't that still technically in the Land Of Fire?" Asked Sakura.

"Beats me." He said shrugging his shoulders. "I'll ask Naruto tomorrow."He added.

They sat there for at least another hour, waiting for Ino to recuperate. They made small talk with the old lady. Once they left and made sure, that Ino got home safely. He walked back to Naruto's apartment. Far from the plan that he had in store. He envisioned tonight, asking Sakura to be his girlfriend. Now he was unlocking the door back to the apartment he shared, alone. _Why does Sakura have to be so nice? Why did she have to sleep over? Why couldn't Ino just get over Shikamaru? He's nothing really special. Fuck you Shika. Ruining my chance tonight."_ With a heavy sigh he walked in, and quickly went to sleep. His flashback ended.

Facing Naruto, Sauske simply replied that he had no clue of what time, but stated that he needed to talk to him about something important.

"Later! Not now! Let's go, everyone is waiting!" Naruto said while throwing random basketball gear at him. Sauske sighed and agreed that later he would tell him.

"Ok..ok let's go."

"Finally! I told them we'll be there fifteen minutes ago. I hope they haven't started playing!

"Who cares? We suck anyways. Why did you even want to make a village team?"

"To be the best basketball team in the village!" Naruto yelled in his ear.

"Alright, seriously, relax! Seems like you took a page from Lee's coaching style. Who the hell made him the head coach again?"

"Well Shikamaru didn't want to, lazy bum."

Sauske's eyes grew at the sound of his name. "Naruto, about the thing I wanted to talk about.."

"I told you, later. Let's run, hurry!"

Naruto took off running across Konoha, towards the park. Sauske had no choice and followed him. They made it to the courts, huffing and puffing. Amazing at the fact that their Shinobi, who can go on missons and risk their lives, without breaking a sweat. When they ran however, they looked like they were slowly dying.

"Get your asses on the line for stretches!" Whistled Lee. He took a liking to his job. Wearing short shorts and sporting a blue headband. He wore a red jacket and sat down on the bench.

"Remind me again...-goes down for pushup- on why we have a coach...-down once again- if we're just playing pickup?" Asked Kiba.

"Beats me." Chouji said, struggling.

"And where is Shikamaru!?" Asked Lee, blowing his whistle.

"Naruto, this may be the worst idea you've ever had." Said Sauske.

"Which one? Lee? Or giving him the whistle?" Chouji chuckled.

"Alright looks like we found ourselves a game!" Said Kiba, looking at the courts. "But we need one more."

Quickly they began searching around the courts. They were all running around like mad men, anything to not let Lee play, because Lee didn't even know how to dribble. The search ended when they found their friend, Sai ,across the street, sketching a tree.

"SAIII! SAIII! Come over buddy! We need you!" Yelled Naruto.

Sai turned around and saw his blonde haired friend calling. He waved, and carefully crossed the street.

"Faster, Sai!"

"Salutations, Naruto!" He said with a smile.

"Yeah, yea, yeah! Salutations and all! Hurry, can you play basketball?"

A look of bewilderment showed on his face. "Umm..the thing is...I have no idea, what you're talking about." He said smiling.

Naruto put a palm over his face. "Kami..please..do you think you can dribble this ball?" He showed Sai the basketball.

"By dribble I assume you mean bounce?"

"Yes! Yes! Exactly! C'mon! Let's go." Naruto said excitedly. "_Who knows maybe we'll actually win!" _ He thought.

Sai stepped on the court and well...they didn't exactly 'amaze'. They we're atrocious, everyone lost the ball, no one could shoot (even though Naruto believed he could and kept on attempting) , and they only scored one basket out of pity.

"This is why I hate sports." Said Chouji as he was hogging up the water fountain.

"Well..at least we got a shot to go in." Injected Naruto.

"Cho! Stop hogging the water! Is it still cold?" Sauske yelled.

"Crap. Sorry Sauske." He replied, noticing the cold water no longer there.

Sauske sighed. "It's alright, don't worry about it."

Naruto cut in, "Hey Chouji, did you tell Shikamaru today we were gonna play?"

Again Sauske's eyes grew as he was drinking the lukewarm water.

"I did! I went to his apartment this morning, and knocked on his door. I figured he was sleeping, so I left. He hasn't been the same, ever since...you know...Yoshino..and all." He said with his head lowered and a small frown as well.

"We can only hope he improves. I think he'll get out of this episode soon. He's the smartest person I know. He knows all the good things in his life, outweigh the bad." The Uzumaki said, grabbing Chouji's arm to reassure him.

Sauske cleared his throat, and spoke. "Naruto about that thing I needed to talk to you about, I think Chouji should hear this as well."

"Not now, lat.."

"YOU IDIOT! IT'S IMPORTANT!" He cut him off angrily. Shaking his friend's shoulders.

Chouji's face turned slightly, becoming intrigued at what he had to say. "What do you have to say? What is it?"

He told the two to take a seat, making sure it was only them two. He looked around, making sure Kiba, Lee, and Sai, where nowhere near. Stepping closer, he hesitated. Trying to find the right words he stood there for a minute, simply saying "uhhh".

"You waited all morning to tell me this?" Naruto said as he began to stand up from the bench.

Noticing this, he grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down into the seat. Naruto tumbled over and Sauske laughed.

"Idiot." He chuckled. "Seriously though! I really don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it." He took a deep breath and spoke. "Shikamaru and Ino broke up..."

"Aww crap that's horrible." Naruto said glumly.

"No wonder he didn't answer the door." Chouji added.

Sauske paused and let them finish their comments. "There's more to it, unfortunately. Apparently Shikamaru is gone. We think he's somewhere in the Land of Waves, but me and Sakura aren't sure."

"When you say "gone"? You don't mean like..."

"Desert?" Sauske finished Naruto's sentence. His cheeks cringed at that word, knowing his past. Naruto nodded and Chouji had a look of shock, that no one has seen. "Well I really don't know how the rules of this situation works, I mean, is the Land of Waves even a country?"

"I think so...maybe? It's tiny." The blonde added.

"Aren't we always helping them?" Said Chouji.

The raven haired Uchiha, noticing this conversation was going nowhere, added that they should go speak to Kakashi, after all he was the interim Hokage. Usually if they needed something answered they would go to their genius friend, Shikamaru, but since he wasnt here, they agreed and stood up and began walking towards the Hokage tower.

"Did he say why?" Chouji said.

Sauske was walking in silence, they all were, until that question. "Excuse me?"

"Did he say why? That doesn't seem like Shikamaru, to just go off and run and leave the Konoha."

Sauske stopped walking and looked at him. "Well apparently it had something to do with a letter his mom wrote, or something like that. To be honest, I'm not completely sure. Ino was crying everywhere, and I couldn't understand a word she said, then she wrote something about a letter in a tiny napkin, but I used that napkin by accident to wipe my mouth." He said with a slight laugh. "Point is, last night was a mess."

Chouji bowed his head and the trio kept on walking. "Did you pull the trigger? Asked Naruto. Sauske sighed at the question. He knew what his roommate was talking about. "No. You think I had the chance when dealing with that last night? I was this close! This!" He said while inching his fingers together to show how close. "But I don't know, it feels like I'm the one that's obsessed with her."

"Aren't you?"

"Yeah..I guess, but it should be the opposite!"

"You know Sauske, for all that you changed, you're still pretty douchey." Naruto said with Chouji bursting into laughter.

"My god, you grow more beautiful each passing day." Kakashi said as he wrapped his arms around Shizune. She laid on top of him as he sat in his chair. She got off to prepare tea, and to check if anymore paperwork had presented itself. Kakashi spun around and looked outside Konoha. He saw little people appear as ants, as they walked by. He was in a state of peace. Unfortunately it was about to be broken, as he saw Naruto walking with Sauske and Chouji. "Shit!Idon'twanttoheartheirproblemstoday_."_ He stood up and called out to Shizune. "Quick! Say I'm not hear and won't be back today, when Naruto walks in!"

She sighed. "Ok, but what for?"

"Who knows what their going to ask me! I don't have time with their issues. Gotta go!" He said as he left the room. The door opened again. "One more thing.."

"Yes?" Shizune said as she was straightening papers.

"Stay beautiful."

Shizune blushed and threw him a kiss. The door closed and Kakashi went off and running, using the emergency exit to not be spotted. A few minutes passed and the door opened again. "Do you know where Kakashi-Sensei is?" Asked Naruto, peering his head into the room.

"He's not here and won't be here today. If you want, you can leave a message." Shizune said sitting in his chair.

"Well...we just need to find out about a technicality." Gesturing towards Sauske and Chouji to enter the room.

"Ok, what can I help you with?"

"Does it count as a 'desert' if a Shinobi leaves the Leaf and goes to the Land of Waves?"

Shizune's face was a little surprised at the question, nonetheless she pulled out the official lawbook and looked for the answer. "It says here, that if a Shinobi steps foot out of the home nation, without being instructed to, or is not on mission, diplomatic meeting, vacation, war, then said Shinobi would become labeled a deserter."

Sauske nodded his head and looked towards their friends. "Should we tell her?"

"I trust her." Naruto said."

Chouji nodded.

Sauske took a seat in one of the visitors chairs, and tried his best to explain the situation. He explained and described the deatils of last night. He went into detail of what he remembered Ino saying and what she wrote. When he finished explaining, Shizune was visibly shook by this.

"We need to contact the Land of Waves!"

"No! No! NO! We're trying to keep this hidden and under the table. We don't want an official looking for him, or him being labeled as a 'deserter'."

Chouji agreed and said, "After all, he could come back and it could be considered vacation, right?"

They all nodded. "We need him back sooner rather than later. He is the lead strategist and he teaches at the academy. Someone is bound to notice." She said, picking up Tonton.

"Not if we lie." Sauske said. Everyone in the room was taken back by his comment. "What you guys never lied before? Let's just say he's on a diplomatic mission to Suna or something. Problem solved." He said folding his arms.

"No, problem not solved at all! You think Gaara would go with this lie? He's the Kazekage. If people find out lied, to protect a 'deserter', he can be in serious trouble!" Said Naruto.

"Crap."

"Think about what could happen to your Hokage as well!" Shizune exclaimed.

"Can't we just say Shikamaru is on vacation?" Chouji chimed in.

"And what? Wait for him to come back? -impersonates Iruka- I'm sorry kids Shikamaru-Sensei is gone for the second month in a row." Naruto said, pointing out the obvious flaw in Chouji's plan.

The door opened as Sakura and a still teary eyed Ino walked in.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sakura said looking at the group.

"It's cool. We all know." Naruto said

"Oh, I figured. We're here to file a missing persons report."

"No you're not!"

"Excuse me?" Ino cut in.

Naruto wiping his face in frustration, told the girls to sit down and explained the predicament that they were in, and why no one had to find out that Shikamaru had left the Leaf. After some time explaining, Ino asked.

"So if we were to file the report, then once they find him...he'll be arrested?"

"Precisely, Ino." Naruto said smiling.

Ino broke down crying. She cried hard when Sauske was labeled an international criminal. She cried harder at the thought of Shikamaru being labeled as one, especially with the intelligence he carried. She bawled and sobbed into Chouji's arms. After some time he gestured to Sakura, to get Ino off him. Once she did, he wiped away any mucus he found on his shirt.

"Don't worry Ino! We'll bring back Shikamaru. That's a pro..-ahh!-".

Naruto was tackled to the floor by Sakura. When he turned to face her, she innocently asked him to leave the room, to speak in private. Everyone around the room looked strangely as they took a step out, Sauske was fuming.

"What was that for?!"

"Shut it! Haven't you learned your lesson in making promises to broken hearted girls!?"

Naruto didn't immediately get the question, and looked lost. Suddenly he did. "Oh yeah, but I got him back! Sort of." He said scratching his head and smiling cheekily.

"If it wasn't for him changing! I would still be heartbroken and like Ino right now!"

A smike overtook his face as she kept on ranting.

"And why are you smiling!? Have you not heard a word that I said?"

"You like Sauske."

"Whaa!? No, not anymore. We're friends that's it!" She said in defense.

"Ok. I believe you, I must have heard wrong." He smiled and dropped the topic, to not further anger Sakura.

When they went back to the room, they were met with a surprise.

"I promise you Ino, that we'll bring Shikamaru back in one piece!" Sauske said. Naruto's and Sakura's jaw dropped to the floor. The room became quiet, until Ino hugged him unexpectedly. "Please don't toy with a girl's heart." She said as she released the hug.

"Gentlemen! Let's go discuss our plan of action outside. Goodbye ladies." Sauske said as he pushed Naruto and Chouji through the door. They walked outside the Hokage tower and walked towards the park, eventually finding an empty and quiet spot.

"Do you think you can deliver on your promise?" Asked Chouji, grabbing a bag of chips.

"To be honest, I have no idea how." Sauske said laughing with a touch of sadness.

"What do you mean, you "have no idea how?""

"Well I just waited for Naruto and Sakura to come back, to make that promise, so Sakura would be impressed."

"You did what!?" Naruto said angrily.

"Releax...relax...you hear that guys?"

"I hear it! Yeah, listen Naruto! If you listen close enough, you can hear Sauske's idiocy."

They broke into laughter, except for Sauske

"Seriously, listen closely." He said while pulling both of them closer. "We'll make a retrieval team and bring back Shikamaru. No papers, no trace. Only a few people would know."

"I guess that could work." Naruto said scratching his head.

"We have to try!"

Sauske broke into song. "_What would Kakashi-Sensei do if he was here right now? He'll make a plan and follow through. That's what Kakashi-Sensei would do."_

Naruto joined in. "_When Kakashi-Sensei was in the war fighting for his life, he made a new jutsu that ended enemies life!"_

Chouji sang along. _"When Kakashi-Sensei was in the Land of Snow, fighting Grizzly bears! He fire styled to save and got the maidens stares!"_

All three now sang in unison. _"So_ _what_ _would_ _Kakashi_-_Sensei_ _do_ _if_ _he_ _were_ _here_ _today?_ _I'm_ _sure_ _he'd_ _kick_ _an_ _ass_ _or_ _two_, _that's_ _what_ _Kakashi_-_Sensei_ _would_ _do_!"

Choji began. _"I think we can get him hopefully. I miss my best friend so dearly."_

Naruto came back. _"And_ _I_ _just_ _want_ _Kiba_ _to_ _stop_ _annoying_ _me_."

"_For Sakura I'll be a retriever too! Because that's what Kakashi-Sensei would do!" Sauske cut in._

All three again. "_What would Kakashi-Sensei do? He'd call the Shinobi in town, and tell them to retrieve for truth! That's what Kakashi-Sensei would do!"_

.

"Did someone say my name? Came a man with glasses.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Kabuto."

"No Kakashi! Not friggin Kabuto! Said Naruto.

They continued.

_"When Kakashi-Sensei traveled back in time, to save the Shinobi race again! _

Chouji came in again_. "And when Kakashi-Sensei helped rebuild Konoha, he beat up Zabuza!"_

All three again. "_Cause Kakashi-Sensei doesn't take shit from anybody.."_

"_So lets all get together_

_And unite to stop ANBU._

_And we'll save Shikamaru, because that's whay Kakashi-Sensei would do._

_And we'll save Shikamaru, because that's what Kakashi Sensei would do!"_

The trio began running towards the city gate, only to be stopped by Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Sorry you need clearance." Kotetsu said.

The trio sighed in disappointment. "This is going to be hard." Said Naruto.

**A/N: So tell me what you think? I couldn't keep writing sad chapters forever! Anyways, Happy Shikaino month! Please feel free to R/R. Can't wait to read what the rest of you guys write! Go Shikaino! The song is a remake of the South Park song "What would Brian Boitano do?". I just want to say that ever since I began writing this story, I've realized that ShikaIno fans are the nicest and coolest people, and I'm truly glad to write and talk to you guys.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any Campbell McGrath poems.**

The alarm went off. Shikamaru awoke from his slumber and looked outside his window, it had been a week since he had run away from Konoha. He looked outside and saw nothing but the fading night sky. Sighing heavily, he turned away from the window and laid down in his bed again. He had trouble falling asleep ever since he left, but it had improved little by little each day. Closing his eyes, Shikamaru drifted off into sleep again.

The morning dew rested on the grass. Like a million tiny mirrors, each tiny raindrop carried images and reflected them. Although they were small, they were there. She took a deep breath and unlocked the door ahead of her. The room was dark, only to be lit up by the reflection of the lamp posts. She walked and quickly locked the door behind her. Ino had spent the whole night walking around Konoha. It was a restless night for the blonde kunoichi, remembering all the twists and turns she made, while attempting to sleep. She eventually grew impatient and decided to relieve whatever was troubling her, with a late night walk around the village. It was only supposed to be a quick stroll, however, everytime she walked back home, she always spotted Shikamaru's house. Further intensifying her troubles. Once she stepped foot back into her and her mother's flower store, she decided to take the day off, writing a tiny handwritten message to her mother to inform her.

Ino was in a state of loss. She was grateful for her friends and their comfort techniques, but the only remedy to the Yamanaka's anxieties was the green Jonin vest Shikamaru would wear. Her senses always was a mix of heightened hysteria with a dose of simpleness, when she would smell the fresh grass on his vest. It was eerily comforting to Ino, that scent. She always kept track off how the seasons changed just by his jacket. During Spring it would have a fresh, wet scent, of the new flowers. During Summer his jacket would be soaked in rain, and sweat, giving it a rather unpleasant smell. Fall was the hardest scent to decode, the flowers were dying, but not fully dead, slowly dying with a sense of dignity. When Winter came, the smell of death was present, nothing could be traced.

Ino took a look around Konoha, by the looks of the empty streets, most people were still home, sleeping. _"Sakura isn't going to be awake." _She thought to herself. Finding herself down an empty road, she noticed the balcony above her. It had no flowers blooming. It was Kurenai's apartment. She noticed the buzz of the air conditioner, knowing that someone had to awake to turn it on. Smiling, she headed towards her apartment, climbing stairs. She knocked on the door. Muffled sounds came from the door.

"I-Ino?" Kurenai said startled, especially at this time

"I'm sorry, Kurenai-Sensei." She replied with her head lowered. "I'll be going."

"No. Not without giving me a hug!" Kurenai said, snatching her hand and pulling her in, inviting her.

Turning on the tea kettle, Kurenai turned around and look at Ino.

"How have you been?" She noticed, Ino was looking down, quite the opposite, of her usual perky self.

Turning around to face Asuma's lover, she replied with a fake smile. "I've been fine. Everything is the same." Her cheeks flushed at the lie.

"Really? I'm so glad to hear!" The mother responded, still skeptical.

"How's Shikamaru? I know it has been a rough couple of weeks for him. We can only hope Yoshino found her peace." Kurenai said while slicing off lemon wedges, in preparation for the tea.

Ino felt a pit in her stomach. _"Be strong."_ She told herself, she tried her hardest to not shed a tear, unfortunately she let out a sniffle.

Like a dog, Kurenai heard the sniffle, and walked over to her. Examining her face, until Ino finally broke down. Rushing her to the table, she sat her down. "What's wrong?" Looking at the blonde girl with concern at this sudden breakdown.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. " Said Ino as she grabbed a napkin to wipe away her tears. Looking at Kurenai, she hoped she wouldn't ask what had happend.

"Ino" she said grabbing her hands, "tell me what's wrong. I'm here and always will be for you." She said, chiseling away at Ino's fake smiles and replies.

Gulping, she tooked a look at the Sensei. "It's about Shikamaru.-pause- he's left the village."

Kurenai's face was paralyzed. The news she just heard about.. Shikamaru? The same Shika who promised her that he will be the Sensei of Susunu? Noticing her shocked face, Ino stood up and turned off the stove top, allowing the tea to cool down.

Still in a state of disbelief, she turned around and asked why did he leave.

"I-I really don't know. -Sniffle- Something to do with his mother." She couldn't break down and cry. She needed to be strong, for Kurenai's sake. "He went to the Land of Waves."

"Land of Waves? W-what? Why there?"

"I don't know. Please I don't, I don't." She was on the verge of tears.

"Shh..it will be ok.." Her hands enveloped the crying blonde.

"Has Kakashi or anyone been told of this?"

"Y-eeesss..!" She bawled into her shoulders. "But they can't do anything! If they do...he might be labeled a 'deserter'." She bawled and sobbed harder.

"Ino, look at me. Look at me." She let go of Kurenai. Looking at her, rubbing her eyes.

"He will find his way back. The deer cannot be away from the bush clover, it will starve." Seeing that she wasn't immediately feeling better, she stood up and grabbed her purse and walked to Susunu' s room. After returning from her daughter's room, she told Ino, to accompany her along the village. She did and off they went walking.

Meanwhile.

Shikamaru had woken up once again, with a glance at the clock, he silently complained and stood from his bed. The afternoon had already begun. It was harder to tell that Autumn had arrived in the Land of Waves. Being a tiny island, bordered by ocean, always kept the climate at a warm temperature. Shikamaru opened his hotel window and quickly closed it, once he noticed the stickiness outside caused by the humidity. The humidity was like a spell on the island. The heat, matched with the humidity brought work production almost to a standstill. It brought a slower pace of life to the island. Shikamaru discreetly liked this pace, compared to the shoulders and grunts he would run into while walking around Konoha. He sighed and lit a cigarette. A cigarette was all that he needed in times that he felt at a loss. Just a week ago he was in Konoha, living a normal life, occasionally sneaking in a cigarette when Ino wasn't around, she hated the smell and taste of them. His mind was at full capacity, thinking not of his friends or Ino, but thinking of what exactly is the human heart and what makes it so unique. He decided to take a stroll around the island to impede his creeping loneliness.

The sidewalk was made of cobblestone, with sand mixed in the tiniest of creases, that came from people going and returning from the beach. Shikamaru was for the first time in a while a free man. He had no one to bother him, nor impeding him. For all the things he could do, he chose the simplest, eating. Sitting himself down he ordered a slice of watermelon. He wasn't really hungry, just needing an excuse to fool his mind. Sitting there, noticing the slice and the juices slip away onto the napkin underneath. He missed Ino, Hell, he missed everyone. Looking around this cafe, he spotted nothing out of the ordinary. The walls had a orange sorbet color to it. A man was straightening papers before accidentally tipping them over. Shikamaru saw this and immediately assisted.

"Thank you." The man said, while receiving back his papers.

Shikamaru looked at one of the papers. It was titled "Romanticized War and its pitfall." He made a comment on it.

"That's a weird thing to read. No offense."

"I'm grading papers, it's actually an interesting topic, once you read your students viewpoint on it."

The Nara couldn't believe he did not notice this man's tie and jacket. Coupled with papers and glasses, it was a dead giveaway that he was a teacher.

"I'm one too you know?"

"A what?" He said looking at him strangely, while placing his papers in a manila folder.

"A teacher, back in the Land of Fire to be correct."

"Why aren't you there teaching?"

Shikamaru replied "On vacation." He always thought steps ahead of everyone else. "Once in a while you need a break from teaching young Shinobi, am I right?"

The man looked at him quizzically. "No. I don't and I don't know anyone that teaches young Shinobi."

Shikamaru looked at this frail man. He noticed his gray hair, his wrinkles, he was of advanced age. "What do you mean? That's what most of the teachers in The Land of Fire teach. Everything that has to deal with the Shinobi world."

"Well that's probably due to your nation's strength and resources. We hear in the Land of Waves, don't really have a standing army. In fact, all we have is a small, voluntary Shinobi force. We rely on diplomacy and using Shinobi from our allies. Due to this our schools focus on academia. Which has had, in my opinion, a positive effect on the islands economy."

"Interesting. What do you teach?"

"Economics and Literature composition."

"Wow. Do you mind if I can pick your brain for a moment?"

"Sure, I don't see why not?"

Shikamaru took a seat. He made pleasant conversation with the man. Learning that his name was Akihiko, and that he was born and raised on the island. They began swirling around many topics such as post-war diplomacy, reconstruction, and economic policy.

"You said you teach Language Composition as well?"

"Yes."

"So it's safe to say, that you find meaning in things that many people can't see or that you ponder about things deeply?"

He chuckled and responded "I guess you can say that."

"Ok so tell me this, what makes the human heart so unique? I've been thinking about this all morning."

Akihiko looked at the Nara, pondering on how to answer his question. "Look at your slice of watermelon. Notice how it bleeds its juices. It is slowly dying. It's a natural thing in nature, just like the heart. What makes the heart in my opinion? Burnt bark, dirt, and wind."

Shikamaru was surprised at his figurative response.

"You see, the heart is in fact nothing special. Most living things have one. What makes the human heart special is what goes in it. You add ghosts, and pipes, to it. Now you have the prototype, but it isn't finished yet. No, you have to polish the heart and craft it under a fire. Finally the precious and key thing to life, must be locked. That's why it lies in our chest. For you see, although is a vehicle of life, it is in itself human, prone to lunacy and madness, so we are protecting it from the outside world as well as itself. When we lock it, there is only one thing we can do."

Shikamaru leaned in closer. "And that is?"

"Hope that what we crafted and engraved won't destroy us and all that we love." He said with a serious face, before a smile broke out. "You have no clue of what I have been saying for the last few minutes, correct?" He said breaking out in laughter.

"Pretty much, but nice use of figurative language."

"You will understand. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but you will."

"Can I get a hint? Please?"

"Every journey begins with small push."

"What do you mean by ghosts, when they take part in creating our heart?"

"That's actually one of the simplest ones. Who makes us?"

"Our parents?"

"Precisely. Our ancestors take part in making us, hence the term ghosts."

"Or...your parents..." Shikamaru said with a hint of sadness.

"Eventually yes, your parents as well, however they aren't dead when your born."

Shikamaru nodded and thanked the man for his explanation. He left and walked aimlessly. He had nowhere to go, yet he wanted to be nowhere as well. Standing across a small bridge, he saw the beach. He saw kids running and screaming in the water. He lit up a cigarette and proceeded to smoke. He thought about the man and his explanation, he didn't realize his parents were dead. He thought about how they were a part of his heart, but he still didn't understand it. Why was it made out of burnt bark, dirt, and wind. What did Akihiko mean by his last statement?

He sighed and flicked away the cigarette, watching it disappear somewhere down on the ground. Making his way back to his hotel, he trudged around slowly, before seeing a tourist store. Looking at knick knacks and other junk. Picking up a snow globe, he laughed. "Like it would ever snow here." He said aloud. He walked into this store for one reason, to buy a postcard.

Once Shikamaru returned back to his hotel room, he reached into his pockets and placed any spare change. Placing the change on top of the dresser, a small piece of paper also appeared. It was folded. Shikamaru folded it out and saw what was on the paper. It was a picture of Team Guy, 7, 8, and 10, all gathered together in celebration due to the Great War ending. He scanned at all the friendly faces and smiles, then he saw Ino. A cringe came to his to stomach, he couldn't bear to see her for what he'd done to her. He peeked at her beauty, her long blonde hair, her bang. She was a violet, a symbol of love, and all that is good in the world. He put down this picture and rested it back in his pocket. Reaching for the postcard, a sudden thought came to his head.

_"Hope that what we crafted and engraved won't destroy us and all we love."_

**A/N: Hey guys, I know their hasn't been a Shikaino scene for a few chapters now, but just wait! I would love to give a big S/O to all the new Shikaino stories and updated chapters, great work! Please Read and Review. I hope you guys are enjoying Shikamaru's journey to becoming a man. This chapter was actually inspired by the poem "The Human Heart" by Campbell McGrath, who is one of the best modern poets in America. Happy Shikaino month! Pray for Shikamaru! **


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

An unusual cool dampness overtook Konoha. It had been raining for three days straight. The medical nin and doctors knew that with the start of the Autumn season, came the Flu season as well. Hordes of children had passed through the medical check-in desk at the front of the hospital. Ino and Sakura had to abandon their normal duties, so they can administer the shots to the growing number of kids. It was getting harder and the work days were getting longer, in fact, Ino hadn't worked in the Flower shop for the past week. Her mind had slowly become numb to the outside world. Consisting of the burning stench the hospital's hand sanitizer brought to her nostrils, the loud and painful screeches by the children when they were injected, and the ringing of the elevator, this week had taken a mental toll on the blonde nurse. Sakura was not faring any better, having her hair pulled and breasts touched by annoying, rude children. Fortunately, there was always a lunch break.

"You know what?" Sakura said with a snort as she sat down at a table. "I'm really starting to hate kids."

Putting pieces of whatever the cafeteria served in her mouth. She continued to rant on. "I tell the mothers of these kids to hold their children, while I give them their shots. AND WHAT DO THEY DO? DON'T HOLD THEM!?" Sakura began to yell, demonstrating how they would pull her hair."

Surprisingly they don't do that to me." Ino said, seeing that her hair was longer than Sakura's. She smiled and looked above at a window. The window had droplets of rain, and was slightly fogged up at the center. The two friends were immediately interrupted by a mailboy.

"Excuse me, but I have a letter to deliver to a Miss Yamanaka, and they told me it was you." The young man said while turning to give it to Ino. He bowed and walked pink haired friend was a little surprised at this letter.

"That's strange. You and I usually don't get much mail.""I know. You think it could be from Kakashi-Hokage?"

"Probably not. He usually just sends a summoner."

She nodded at Sakura's response. She tore open the envelope, and stared blankly at it. "It says to go to the rooftop of the Hokage tower at midnight."

"That's a pretty strange request. Does it say whose it from?"

Ino turned the letter around. "No, but I bet you it's from Naruto." She said giggling.

"Naruto? How?"

"Well this paper is from Kakashi's desk, you see?" Turning the paper over and showing Sakura the mark the paper had that distinguished it. "Kakashi wouldn't write this, the handwriting is too sloppy. So that leads us to the only idiot we know, who is also his apprentice."

"Gee you're right! This hand writing is atrocious!" Exclaimed Sakura. "So are you going to go?"

"Only if you would accompany me, in case of you know...it turned out I was wrong and it was a gang of rapists." She continued to giggle.

"Ok..I'll go. I wonder what he wants?" She quickly regretted her statement, thinking that Ino would think of Shikamaru, and break down.

"I...really don't know." Ino said. Clearly faking a smile.

Sakura always had a rivalry with her friend. In the beginning, she thought Ino was winning, but now, she really did not care. Too many sleepless night, where she couldn't sleep, worrying about her best friend. Wondering how she even managed the strength to get out of bed each day and manage to look so elegant every day. She was only one of four people to fully realize how broken Ino truly was. Struggling with body issues since she was just a preteen, to feeling useless, her father dying, and now the only man that returned the same feelings to Ino just walked out of a relationship with her.

"You know...you should not ignore this."

"Ignore what?" Ino replied with a lackadaisical smile.

"I'm just saying that I'm here for you, and so is everyone else." The conversation grew cold immediately after that sentence. What was she going to do? Cry? The muted face of Ino started Sakura. A voice contaminated the silence.

"I hate Shikamaru."

Sakura's eyes popped in surprise. Did she really hear Ino say that? The thoughts that consumed her mind was a civil war. A part of her was cheering and clapping on the inside of her, knowing her friend she has the ability to like someone for a long period. The other waring faction, was one of empathy for Shikamaru. He lost his mother, who made it clear that she didn't think he was a 'man' yet.

"Don't say that. You know you don't." She finally said frowning. Wondering if she truly meant it.

Ino sighed and agreed. She was more sad than filled with wrath for the Nara. A look of longing filled her ocean blue eyes. Later that day...Ino impatiently walked around the family store. Each frenetic step she took was followed by another. She watered each flower to waste time. Glancing at the clock, she waited for Sakura to show up. A bell rang, meaning someone had entered the store. Ino turned around and saw Sakura, a smile overtook her face. She approached the counter, "You ready to go?".

The two girls helped close the flower shop and soon headed to the top of the Hokage tower. Once they made their way to the top of the tower, they waited and waited for some sign of life to appear. A raspy, hidden voice broke the silence."So...I hear that you may have lost something?" Said a dark shadowy figure.

The girls just looked at this man and knew it was Naruto, with that, they decided to play along.

"My mother said never to talk to strangers." Said Sakura.

"Well...but...Hey..what are you doing?!" Exclaimed Naruto as his disguise was broken by Ino, who had snuck up on him from behind and took off his mask and pushed him from the shadows. "I paid a lot of money for that mask! I even bought a voice changer!" He whined, revealing the wires he had strapped to his chest.

"I don't care how much you paid! Why did you summon us?" Said Ino, looking over Naruto as he tried to get back his mask.

"Shhh...not so loud! Do you want to bring back Shikamaru or not?".Ino froze and remained silent."That's what I thought." Naruto said with vigor. "Anyways we thought of a plan. Mind you, Kakashi will probably find out sooner rather than later about us leaving, but we highly doubt he would rat on us."

"Ok so what is this plan?"

"Ok..." He took a deep breath and continued. "Ino does your family store still send out deliveries to the other lands?"

"Yes, and we do it quick too. We have to ensure the quality and freshness of the flowers."

"Perfect! Ok so what if Choji, Sasuke, and I are able to hide ourselves in one of your delivery crates...and.."

"Stop. We hardly ever mass deliver, and if we do we only send roses, and they aren't even in season anymore!"

"Ok Ino, can we make a fake transaction and order roses?"

"YOU IDIOT! I JUST SAID THEY'RE OUT OF SEASON! AND NO! MY MOM WOULD KILL ME IF SHE FOUND OUT I MESSED WITH THE SHIPPING ORDERS." Ino was now fuming. Sakura put her arm around her shoulder to lessen her tension.

"Kami don't bite my face off! Is their anything you guys have to order to keep the store running smoothly?"

She raised her head. "I wouldn't say running smoothly, but we do order candy for the store from the Land of Sugarcane."

"Boom. Right there is our ticket out of here."

"How? The Land of Sugarcane will leave you guys farther from the Land of Waves. Why don't you guys just buy a train ticket like Shikamaru?" Said Sakura, as she cut in.

"We would but we do not want to leave a paper trail, at least according to Sasuke and Shizune. Let me finish the plan..instead of getting a delivery, you tell the guards that you are returning something back to the Land of Waves, say the candy you ordered was expired and you are trying to get a refund or a fresh batch."

"But the guards now where the candy is from. They have seen my mother pick up the delivery numerous times."

"Ok that works too then. We will get shipped to the Land of Sugarcane and once we get there, we'll by a train ticket and find him. Sure it will take a few more days longer to get to the Land of Waves, but not too long. So are you in?" Naruto said beamingly towards Ino.

"I don't..I mean I guess...if it's the only way." Ino said noticed the distaught look on her face.

"Look we will find him, in one piece also." He laughed before being punched by Sakura in the face...

_**Meanwhile**_

"Go down to Akai Oka road and make sure that they sign out on the package, okay?" Shikamaru nodded and left the warehouse. He had found a job for a shipping company in the Land of Waves to help pay for his expenses and his hotel stay.

Walking in the blazing Autumnal sun, he felt the warm sea breeze hit his face. You couldn't see his face, he had a hat with the company logo on it, Ebu Ex. The sun had cooked his pace of life that he had unconsciously developed from Konoha. The sun always made everyone tired and slow. Probably explains why Ebu Ex had the lowest customer satisfaction rate in the island. Knocking on doors all day was surprisingly a pleasant job for Shikamaru. Ever since his meeting with the professor, he had really started to look at life and it's symbols in a figurative way, he began to study deeper the faces of those who received packages. They were from all walks of life. Some born into riches. Some born into the world of non existence. He kept account of the different smells that entered his nose. Poor people sure liked to eat fish. He knocked on the door and delivered it to An elderly lady, who always was getting packages delivered to her from some family member in the Land of Iron. With that package his shift was over and walked backed to the warehouse to clock out. Once clocking out, he had a longing to go home. Not his hotel room, but his real home. He wondered if the house had been ransacked and looted, most importantly however, he wondered if his mother's smell still lingered. Lowering his head, he pulled out a cigarette and enjoyed it, in silence...

"Let's go! Ino did you drill holes in the boxes?" Peered Choji.

"Yes. Each box has three holes."

"Ok...in silence guys." Sasuke said while putting his left foot in first.

"Thank Kami we are in three SEPERATE boxes!" Naruto said. Already fully inside his box.

"Alright Ino you know what to do!"

"Ok...let's go. Be silent like the killer that is life!"

Ino had already placed the boxes on a cart, and began rolling them towards the village gate, to be delivered. "Bring him back. Please." She whispered to Choji's box. Once she made it to the gate, she filled out the necessary paperwork to get the delivery sent. She walked away weeping.

**A**/**N**: **Sorry** **for** **the delay** **in** **updating**! **Please** **R/R**!.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden.**

Across the hall people were downing bottles of alcohol left and right. The booming music had a headache inducing effect. He saw co-workers downing shots with complete strangers, and he saw people who he remembered. Drawing flashbacks to the small 'parties' they threw back in Konoha. "That's definitely Choji." Shikamaru said quietly to himself, as he saw a large man, passed out on the sofa with a bottle of Sake in his hand. It was strange, each day he was getting more and more lost in the Land of Waves. Every day it seemed that the already small number of people he knew was shrinking. An enclosed space that continued to shrink. Shikamaru needed to get away from this room before he suffocated. Once outside, another cigarette was pulled out and smoked. Each cigarette that he would smoke left a bitter, dry after taste in his mouth. He didn't even know why he decided to join his fellow co-workers to this party in one of their 'friends' house. Without hesitation, he departed. The night was still fairly young and he had one idea in mind.

Seeing the green glow of the local drug store brought an unpleasant smile to his face. The automatic doors slid open. The jingle went off whenever someone entered the store...

_Earlier that day_

"Shizune, sweetheart, have you seen Naruto?" He said while holding her hands and gazing at her.

"I can't say I have." She said while picking up TonTon.

Kakashi turned around and broke his hold with Shizune. Turning around on his chair, he began to inspect the village for any signs of the blonde troublemaker. "I don't like the sight of this. Not a bit. When Naruto is here, that means he is not out there causing trouble. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Sauske or Choji either. Do you think? No, of course they wouldn't..They did! Those bastards! I'm going to get to the bottom of this right away!" He said while reaching the phone to create a search party and find out where the three had ran off to. When I get my hands on them!

Shizune ran up and slapped the phone out of his hand. "Just what do you think you're doing? You realize if you make that phone call, we lose four of the best Shinobi in the whole village, right?

Inspecting his desk, the greying man pondered what course of action to take. His eyes descended upon a lonely stone. It sat there in its nothingness. It was a gift from Naruto, back during his earlier, immature days. "_You need a pet Kakashi sensei," _he remembered and came back. Rubbing the stone with his fingers he looked back at Shizune and sighed.

Back at Yamanaka flowers, Ino found herself trimming the unwanted parts of a bouquet. "Stupid thorns." She lashed out under her breath. Every thorn did have a purpose and she knew it too. The door opened and a look of shock appeared in her eyes. Sai had entered the store.

"Hi sai! Ino said laced with overall joy."

Sai nodded and remebered to smile. He was slowly getting better at this whole 'socialization' thing. "Sakura told me to visit you."

"Ohh! that's so sweet of her." Smiling at the kind gesture but wondering why she sent Sai. He was her friend after all, but she usually hung out with Choji.

He looked at Ino, just gazing.

Ino looked back at him with a sly smile, until he didn't say anything.

"Do you want to tell me something?" She said while peering at him.

"Oh! Almost forgot about that, I apologize. Let's see here...-opens notes on talking- Sakura told me to take you out so you would not be so glum."

"Sure! We can go right now if want. Buisness is slow today. Let's go!" She grabbed his arms and rushed out the door with him. She desperatly needed a day to herself, or just lacking negativity.

Their day included of a movie and a bowl of ramen, that Ino helped herself to, taking advantage of Sai and his social ineptitude.

After the bowl of ramen, the night sky was well above Konoha.

Sai had approached Ino from behind after taking a painful grimace towards his wallet, which had been emptied out by the Yamanaka. "I think it is time we go our separate ways, it is well past timbed time."

"Bedtime? You have a bedtime?" She said trying to hold back her laughs.

"Why of course! My day is scheduled to the minute and you are interfering with it."

Ino had know clue as to whether he meant that as a harmless joke or if he was being serious, so she shrugged it off. "Please just one more thing! The stars are out!"

"So? I am assuming you want to do something with them?"

"Yeah yeah!" She nodded excitedly before forcing him to accompany her onto the big hill to stargaze.

Lying on top of the hill, Ino saw dim lights out into the sky, stars, one of the few places she could call home. In a state of pure ecstasy she rolled up and enjoyed the extra body warmth. She closed her eyes and opened them up again. Laying her eyes upon Sai, she smiled. The guy who enjoyed sketching was doing just that. He sketched the night sky and all of it's parts, that is until the tip of the pencil broke when he heard his name called. Turning around he looked at his blonde friend.

"You have something to ask?"

"Yes." She paused and cringed, she didn't want to appear as whiny or lost. "Do you think..Shikamaru is okay?"

He looked straight at the half moon before turning around again. "No."

She was taken back at the harshness of his response. "What do you mean?"

"Look I don't know to be honest. Obviously he's not ok if he willingly decided to run away." The quiet, pale man was now in an opposite maner. He took a deep breath and turned away from her. "At the same time...you need to be stronger, Ino. Life waits for no one, and then we all just die. Die, die, and die again. My honest opinion?" He asked looking at her, "He made his choice and that's that."

Ino was taken back at this...rant.., this explosion! Bursting from Sai, of all people.

"So you're saying get over him?"

He put his hands and wiped his mouth as if he said something dirty. "No, it just...just stupid, yeah that's it. It's dumb that you're worrying about some guy that doesn't give a shit about you."

A silence loomed. Tension was building amongst them. Sai just went back to sketching until he heard a faint weeping noise.

"Did I say something?"

"He...-sobs- never cared foooo..for me?" Ino was hiccuping and finally let down all her barriers.

Sai realized the error in his statement and tried to correct it. Something strange happend however, he didn't. Deep down he felt that Shikamaru's absence cemented and proved his real feelings for his blonde friend. He didn't feel right however, prying into other people's buisness and personal affairs. He was afraid that he would lose a friendship, being friends with both of them. As his genius friend would say this predicament was "troublesome."

Looking at Ino, he simply sat there and fumbled through his sketches. Although he was an awkward man by nature, he knew nothing good will come of this if he said anything.

Alas, he finally gave in and spoke, "I think that may have come out wrong, let me explain." Turning back towards her and making sure she gave him her attention. "What I meant to say was that, I think you deserve better and I've seen you progress and it's going to be halted."

Ino was about to cut in until he continued.

"Think about it, you were obsessed with Sauske and then he deserted and it left you crippled. Now what? The same thing is going to happen. If he did truly like you, he wouldn't have left, but that's just me. So how long will it be before you become this helpless kunoichi again?"

Ino gritted her teeth. "Shut up." She said quietly but fiercely.

"If you ask me, I bet you he is out in somewhere playing shogi and sleeping." Sai still did not know when to shut up.

"SHUT UP! PLEASE JUST STOP!" Ino yelled, startling Sai.

"I like whoever..." her knees slumped and burried her head in her arms.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to hurt you. It's just that, I don't like to see people upset. You will find a better guy. One that will always be there."

Ino was drying away her tears, "like who?"

"I really don't know. If..."

Sai was cut mid sentence by Ino. She gave him a peck that turned into a long awkward kiss, before Sai gasped and pushed her aside.

"I...I...I'm sorry. I cannot do this." He spoke, still in a state of shock.

"You don't like me?" She winced at him. Gazing at him with warm eyes.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry..."

"Is it because I'm ugly?"

"No, I just don't have..feelings for you." He sighed and stood up. "I think you should go home."

Sai walked away from the hill, leaving the distraught girl to regain her composure alone. "Does anybody like me?" She said, choking on her tears. The thoughts that invaded her mind were painful. They made her think she was nothing more than Konoha's blonde whore. How could she do this? Just seemingly leap from Shikamaru to Sai? Her gut wrenched and she finally stood up.

Walking back home, her mind was on two things, where was the search team, and if Shikamaru is alright. Looking at the front door to the apartment she shared with her mother, she sighed and entered.

The cart made a creaky noise as the wheels grinded against the unpaved dirt roads.

"Can you see outside? Well Naruto, can you?!" Exclaimed a bitter Chouji as the box he had been stuck in for the past nine hours did not bode well with his hefty body.

"I wish. The only thing I see is the dark forest across from us." Naruto said as he twisted in his box. "Sauske how you holding up?"

"I'm...going to be honest with you *muffled*."

"Come again?"

"Stupid freaking box, can you hear me now?"

"Loud and clear."

"KAMI! I CAN'T! I can't take this anymore! My legs are cramping and I'm thirsty!"

"Relax Sauskse, we'll be there soon." Said Chouji reassuringly.

"We better, I don't feel like hunting."

Shikamaru decided to return back to his cramped motel room. He was slowly losing his humanity piece by piece, like a puzzle being undone. He sat on the bed and turned on the television that was in his room. It only broadcasted five channels with two of those being tourism channels that showed off the Land of Waves. He loosed his shirt and reached for his carton of cigarettes only to be realize it was empty. "Well I guess that just leaves for one thing left to do tonight." Rising from his bed, he entered the small bathroom with it's peach colored walls and cracked tile, along with soap stains from previous guests. Looking at the mirror, he saw a man. Strangely enough he couldn't recognize him. He knew who the man once was, but refused to acknowledge this man's existence. Reaching into his pocket he laid out a bottle, quickly leaving to raise the volume on the channel. "**Thank you for choosing to stay at a local inn! This message is paid by the Land of Waves Tourism branch."**

Returning back to the bathroom counter, he picked up the bottle and shook it. The label said **"Only** **use** **if** **having** **trouble** **sleeping** **or** **staying** **asleep**." He twisted the and broke past the child seal. "If I take just enough of these, I know the world will be a better place." Placing a handful of pills in his hand, he quickly wolfed them down and decided to wait out the effects of it, while lying on the bed.

He awoke in a daze, a few hours later. Blinking slowly, trying to process his environment. All he could hear was a faded ringing sound. It kept on going periodically. Springing from his new bed, he looked around, nothing was recognizable, except the faint smell of salt water. The lone window in the room was open, seeing and smelling the beach provided him with a sense of ease. Letting out a sigh, he was met with a tube that he had just noticed. A choking sound escaped from his mouth, as he tried to make sense of it all. The ringing grew louder and was going off at a frantic pace. He saw his arms had tubes coming out of them as well. Silent screams breezed from his mouth, until a nurse, it appeared, had walked in.

"Doctor! He's awake!" She blurted across the hall. Her eyes were open in amazement.

The doctor had walked in. "Well, glad to see we didn't lose you. How are you feeling?" He rolled up a chair and sat down. Immediately after sitting he ran examinations on him to update his status.

"Well...your blood pressure fell through the ground, and after the initial screenings, we discovered large traces of opioid in you. -clicks pen- Kiyomi, can you leave the room for a bit?"

She nodded and agreed, leaving the two alone.

Once the door closed, Shikamaru noticed the doctor continue to stare at the doorway. He found himself uneasy, when the two locked eyes. "So was this an attempt to harm yourself? Be honest." He said with a firm posture.

Shikamaru resigned and nodded his head. He was unaware and still slightly disoriented from all of this.

"Well by law, we need to put you hear under mandatory supervision for the next 96 hours, understand?"

He nodded once again.

"We also must contact your parents or guardians, that is unless you have proof that you are living and maintaining yourself." The doctor's eyes appeared to be bloodshot.

"What counts as proof?"

"Legal documentation."

Shikamaru found himself in a catch 22. He was intrigued that the doctor still was in his room. He was looking outside the window, holding a manila folder on the Nara.

"Shikamaru is your name correct?" He said, while not making eye contact.

It took him a second to realize he was asked a question, and responded.

"I don't understand. Pardon me, but it never sums up."

"What doesn't sum up?" He was half expecting a question about how a Sensei from Konoha ended up in his hospital, but was surprised when the doctor answered.

"Why are kids and teenagers so bent on ending it? Ending everything. It makes no sense, they are in the peak of their life."

"Well...you said "peak" affirming that it doesn't get better."

"No, you're right, my mistake. I meant to say it balances all out. The highs and lows become traded in for jobs and families and..I just cannot fathom it." He tapped on a picture that Shikamaru had not seen. In the half folded picture, there stood a man with a woman who appeared to be pregnant. Looking back at Shikamaru, the doctor tried to find use of his hands, for they were desperately trying to latch on to something. His brief struggle ended when he grabbed the manila folder and walked out.

Shikamaru still faced a predicament and was in no condition to think of any plan. He simply closed his eyes and nodded off.

**A/N: SO SO SO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATING REGULARLY. School and University have gotten in the way! Anyways please read and review. Feel free to leave a suggestion. **


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